🙏 The Ultimate Guide to Zongzi / Joong (咸肉粽), Toisanese Style

Watch Mommy and Daddy Lau teach us how to make zongzi / joong, also known as sticky rice dumplings or Chinese tamales.
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🍴 RECIPE + INGREDIENTS🍴
Check out our blog for an adjustable list of ingredients and step-by-step videos:
madewithlau.com/recipes/bambo...
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⏲ CHAPTERS ⏲
00:00 - Intro
01:40 - Key Ingredients
02:03 - On Sticky Rice
02:22 - On Mung Beans
03:03 - Process Overview
04:00 - Prepare pork belly
05:04 - Prepare bamboo leaves
08:31 - Prepare fillings
08:52 - Wash & soak
10:03 - Chop
11:29 - Flavor rice, mung beans
11:55 - Assemble the zongzi
12:58 - Fold bamboo leaves
13:47 - Add filling
14:51 - Add 3rd bamboo leaf, enclose
15:33 - Tie zongzi
17:46 - Boil for 3 hours
19:26 - Meal Time!
20:05 - Grandma used to make 100 at a time
20:58 - Red bean dumplings
21:41 - Do bamboo leaves have flavor?
22:02 - Lo mai gai vs zong zi?
25:00 - Using long grass to tie joong
26:43 - The morbid but endearing origin story of zongzi
28:13 - Ending on a personal note
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💛 OUR FAMILY 💛
Learn more about the Lau family, and why we started this channel + blog:
madewithlau.com/family
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🎵 OTHER CREDITS 🎵
Intro Flute Music - Performed by Daddy Lau
Copyright Chillhop Music - chll.to/49e6fa9c
Copyright Chillhop Music - chll.to/4ca8cc15
Overhead Camera Rig built by P.Oak - / p.oak.co
Chinese Subtitles by Wynee Pan - / gotchacafenyc

[@MadeWithLau]

What did you think of our joong video? Let us know what dishes you'd like to see next! Enjoying our content? Join the Canto Cooking Club - bit.ly/3DHMSt2 Support us on Patreon - www.patreon.com/madewithlau For the written recipe, visit madewithlau.com/recipes/bamboo-sticky-rice

[@pingpongwong1]

Do you guys have a char siu bao recipe? Would love to see that next.

[@MadeWithLau]

Great suggestion! Added to our list :)

[@spamanthabee]

@@MadeWithLau Even just the char siu would be great! Especially because our ovens are so different.

[@MadeWithLau]

@@spamanthabee Yeah I would loveeeee to know how to make char siu by itself too haha. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@Hi_Im_Jie]

I really like the addition of Mama Lau in the instructional portion of the video. Listening while watching the construction method is much easier since the folding can be tricky (for me at least). Over all, really awesome video! Hmm, how about bow doy faan? Casserole dish with various toppings? I recently tried it and was an epic fail, rice was too watery.

[@AmyChoatGooglePlus]

Thank you to the Lau family for helping us ABC kids carry on the tradition!

[@MadeWithLau]

Awww yes! Thanks for the love ❤️ That’s what it’s all about!!

[@batt3199]

Yes Kudos to Uncle Lau for his patience for putting up with the stupid questions from his ABC son.

[@siriamaniam4628]

What is ABC?

[@joankenmotsu1730]

@@siriamaniam4628 American born Chinese

[@barneyyuyy1901]

@@joankenmotsu1730 really?I thought it meant asian born Canadian

[@RlKU]

My mom passed away a couple of years ago and I never truly got to learn how to make joong. I've always remembered the fillings, but never the ratios, folding, or wrapping methods. Thank you for this and shout out to my fellow Toisan people!

[@MadeWithLau]

🙏🏼so glad you found this video so now you can have a guide when you want to make. Such a special family recipe. We hope you get to make in celebration of your mom soon!

[@domingosmartins2796]

A air L her e you Fé lab dm. A de

[@lisacastano1064]

I used to help my mom make these and I remember how to do it. the one I have trouble making is the new year sticky rice cake. It tastes good but it's usually too soft 😭

[@a2offsuit]

This brings back memories of helping my mom make these when I was younger. She's 86 now and in so so health. This video brought tears to my eyes thinking of those days. Thanks for sharing

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you for sharing that with us. Your mom is in our prayers and we hope her health improves. We're touched that our video brought you back to such great memories and food

[@a2offsuit]

@@MadeWithLau My Mom passed away on the 19th. Thanks for the kind words and keep making videos

[@MadeWithLau]

@@a2offsuit We are so, so sorry to hear about this. Your family remains in our prayers and we send you all of our love. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you in this time.

[@wongfrankie8928]

I’m a taishan descendant in Singapore, I still remember the dumplings my grandmother made more than 40 years ago. Taishan dumplings are different from other Chinese groups, they are more elongated thus sometimes we call it the pillow dumplings.

[@MadeWithLau]

That's awesome you still have those vivid memories of the dumplings your grandmother made 🥰

[@NYCJayRoams]

My mom passed away 3 years ago, she was too young. This video made me think about the love she poured into her food, especially the time consuming and labor intensive process of making Zongzi. You are so lucky to preserve an encyclopedia of recipes, videos and memories to cherish forever with your family, thank you for making this video.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much for sharing that with us. We are so sorry to hear about your loss - I am sure her food was as incredible as her spirit. We had a hospital scare with my dad around the time we were thinking about doing this project (he's totally fine now), and it made me realize how important this is to do right now. We're grateful to share these with you!

[@valho9]

How he unveiled the joong..."da da da duuummmm!" My mom used to say that too ❤ She's not with us anymore. Your dad reminded me of her in that moment 💕💕💕

[@Tropical241]

Omg when he did that I was like...my dad does and says the exact same thing!! LOL. Maybe it's a generation Canto cooking thing?

[@readingbug]

I made your joong last week for the festival! Followed your recipe to a tee! My hubby who is from Guang Zhou (and a hard-to-please foodie) absolutely loved it! He said he will never buy joong from the shops again because with home made joongs, we can stuff whatever ingredients we want! Please note your online recipe (which I printed out to follow) is missing the “add 1 tbsp of peanuts” under “fill the pocket” section 😊 so some of my joongs missed the peanuts but my husband still loved them!!!! Someone asked below how long it took to wrap 20 joongs. If it’s your first time like me and have a young family to put to bed at night, I would say allow the wrapping to be over 2 nights. Overall, a huge success and will make every year. Thank you for your AMAZING CHANNEL! Your dad is such an inspiration. I wanna be him at 80 fr. I snuck in an additional Chinese sausage slice per joong and hubby says to put in more mung bean for him please! Yum!

[@mvseelam5415]

This video was amazing ! Your production quality is off the charts. The respect and love for your parents and family and traditions and culture really shines through. Im grateful for you sharing a part of that with us :)

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much for the kind words! We're so grateful to read this. I totally agree - it's a privilege to be able to document and enshrine for generations to come! Very grateful to be able to share with you :)

[@LAfoodies]

@@MadeWithLau One of my aunties used to make these and we'd get some every few years. Growing up in L.A. I could usually find them in Chinatown. All my aunts, uncles, and folks are gone now. These bring back memories of sharing them with my mom. Thank you!

[@j.rosadahlia3960]

When i found this recipe, i immediately subscribed. I found a gem! As a kid, i used to eat this as breakfast and lunch. We call this dish "bakcang" in Indonesia. May daddy Lau stay healthy and have long life so he can share more delicious homemade Chinese cuisine 🤗

[@xuanxuange]

Fun fact: The song this lovely granpa played with the flute is actually an old Japanese song called ‘北国の春’ and it was edited to a Cantonese version （故鄉的雨） even Mandarin version in Taiwan （榕樹下）.

[@angelajohnston1010]

故鄉的雨， 另人非常思鄉！童年回憶，那些年是多麼的幸福美好呀！上山睇牛， 下塘找魚； 童年， 我好懷念喔！

[@infallibleblue]

Awwww

[@jenny123311994]

As a Taishanese Canadian these videos make me so happy! Growing up kids who spoke Cantonese would laugh at me. Now, it's another layer of cultural identity for me.

[@MadeWithLau]

So happy your videos could bring you joy! Can't wait to keep sharing more with you 🥰

[@infallibleblue]

Amazing how something that made you different is now a beautiful and special quality. Growing up isn’t the same for everybody. Forgive those who do not know. You’re amazing.

[@katherinegan9196]

I love my mother’s zoong and the warm memories of her wrapping it. And the fragrance from the boiling leaves and rice. She taught me how to make it just once, sadly, in the year she passed away. After that I had to remember the taste and texture of her zoong to make it for my own children. Mother always told me that this is the shape they wrap it in Toishan, the pillow shape. It is wonderful to see Mama Lau wrap the leaves the same way with the same ingredients I learnt from my mother. I am teaching my children how to make their grandma’s zoong because they love it. We’ll be doing it this weekend as a family get together! Thank you for this video and passing on a well loved tradition. Baby Cam is adorable and lucky to have a very loving family.

[@dennislee--529]

Hi. 你好. I am from the Philippines. My late paternal Chinese parents from Fujian province (福建省 ) and my father loves Zongzi (粽子) and so do I. In Fujian or Minnan dialect (閩南話), we call that Bah Chang (肉粽) while in Filipino we call it Machang (a loanword). Very similar, but our Fujian version usually have dark brown rice in color because of the soy sauce and oyster sauce. No matter the color of Zongzi, they all look good and taste good to me. Thank you for making that nice recipe. 多謝. :)

[@ARNOLDCESARROMERO]

Hi, Filipino here. Are local ba/ma chang also wrapped in bamboo leaves? Where can I buy the leaves though?

[@sandrajuay7152]

Love the way Mommy Lau lovingly teaches her DIL how to wrap joong. Love this video 💕 💕 💕

[@belaralia]

I'll have to try! I miss my paternal grandmother's sticky rice. She passed away in 2004 and have only ever had one Toisan style sticky rice a couple of years ago. It made my family cry when we ate it. I hope to pick up the tradition. Thank you!

[@MadeWithLau]

I'm so sorry to hear about her loss. I'm sure her sticky rice was incredible! We are grateful that you have another recipe to refer to and recreate the tradition :) Such a treasure to be able to pass on! Thank you for sharing that with us

[@lilmeili]

My grandparents are from Toisan and I decided to make joong for them today--it's the first time I've been able to see them since the beginning of the pandemic and they were pretty impressed! Your instructions and video were clear and easy to follow, but if I could make a suggestion--one engineer to another ;) I noticed that some of your instructions were "wash and massage 3 times for each ingredient". Since rinsing and washing are not consistent person to person, it might be more precise to include some sort of visual indicator of when you know something is done correctly. I know Chinese cooks tend to just say thing like "just do it like 'this', and you'll be fine!" (gum miy duk lor!) because it's all second nature to them and they just subconsciously know when something is right. One thing I remember my mom teaching me when I was little about washing rice was to massage and rinse until the water runs clear, and the rice doesn't clump up when you squeeze a handful it in your hand. This ensures that you've gotten rid of all the debris and bits of rice flour from the rice rubbing against itself, and have clean rice. Of course this is personal preference; I've seen other families who prefer not to rinse until the water is clear as it keeps the rice a little stickier. Including visual indicators like this might be helpful in your future recipes for other newcomers to Asian cooking. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from your family. Keep up the great work!

[@lotuswailanawong3378]

This Toisan version is the closest to my grandmother’s version. I only helped her wrap them but never learned how she prepared the ingredients and process. Mommy Lau’s wrapping tutorial is a great refresher for me. I appreciate all the historical, geographical, linguistic and cultural context you give to all of Chef Lau’s instructional videos. I am fluent in Cantonese and your translations are spot on! Chef Lau is very methodical and clear! Just one comment, your pronunciation of “glutinous” rice is not the same as “gluttonous” which is a different word and meaning although we can be gluttonous if we eat too much glutinous rice. Lol 😋 Thanks again and looking forward to more of your videos!

[@udcaps]

brought a tear to my eye. my dad wouldve loved to document his recipes like yours. i hope he finds his feet again one day and we can do it, after recently suffering a stroke. ive found out about your channel just a week ago - and have been obsessed, taking my time to appreciate each video - your parents are such sweethearts. thank you for your work dear lau family

[@user-rm4hc9cv8c]

The whole video is just gold. I can’t tell how much the family talking over the table full filled my nostalgia and throw me right back to the dinner table in childhood memory. Absolutely love everything about the video and thank you so much for bring us such a good content .❤

[@dng2000]

My paternal side is Taishanese too and watching this video sure brings back very sweet memories of my late paternal grandmother who used to make these every year and sometimes I get to watch her. I sure regret taking the "Joong" for granted. I do remember asking my grandmother does she need help and she often say no, a subtle message telling me (her precious grandson) that she's still young and energetic (even during her 60's and 70's through her early 80's) which obviously translates to "now leave me alone". :D

[@sharon5356]

This is amazing. Like many people I grew up eating my grandma's joong (she would send me off to college with 10 of them frozen haha), but I grew up and moved away from my family and this makes me simultaneously miss them and also motivated to try making them! Also I love the patience and care you have in shooting these videos, not rushing through your dad's chopping and letting your mom take the time to explain and stumble over words. Love all of this!

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much for sharing that Sharon! I can totally relate to all of this haha. My parents sent me off with a tonnnn of joong for college. And thanks for the notes on editing! I’m always trying to find that balance between keeping it interesting / well-paced and letting my parents breathe. It’s great to hear that you appreciate the pacing!

[@spiritfire373]

Took for granted how much time and love my mother and grandmother put into making these for the entire family. Fond memories watching this video. Thank you for sharing.

[@MadeWithLau]

Absolutely! I totally agree. Much higher appreciation for these now! We're grateful to know that our video brought you back to such great memories and people :)

[@spiritfire373]

@@MadeWithLau Wrote the original comment before finishing the video and laughed to see that we basically had the same sentiments. I tried my hand at the wrapping step with my mother a few years ago and she just laughed as I struggled. I finally got one good wrap in the time she completed five.

[@MadeWithLau]

@@spiritfire373 ahahaha yeah i was actually planning on joining my wife in learning to wrap... but my mom was like, "no, you will take too long." LOL. oh well, guess it was better that i filmed it anyway hahaha. good times! gotta love our supportive parents!

[@rachelw3289]

“Mommy Lau is going to demonstrate the joong in Cantonese☺️” Also, Mommy Lau is speaking English all the way😂

[@KL-qr8gy]

Lol!! I think she actually meant "demonstrate the joong (in Cantonese) or sticky rice dumplings." She was explaining that the word joong is Cantonese.

[@spamanthabee]

If Daddy or Mommy Lau have any sweets/dessert recipes, that'd be great too!

[@MadeWithLau]

Will add to our list! Thanks for the suggestions :)

[@Kyuuren13]

Joong is always a yearly comfort foods to make and always been passed from generations to generations. I personally never watched my parents bao joong because my auntie always does them and sends them over, but this video is always appreciated for the each step by step to remind me how much love and time has been put in to make them. Thank you!

[@edwardchung3576]

This is my absolute favorite video! The tradition of joong will eventually fade but now that we have your family's video to teach and remind the next generation, hopefully it will live on.

[@MadeWithLau]

I hope so 🙇🏻‍♂️ It really is a treasure to our culture and family. I hope this video will help it live on!

[@kangarooninja2594]

What a wonderful family. It reminds me of my traditional French family all sitting around the table eating and talking for hours. Eating and talking with family is an underappreciated thing in today's culture.

[@bl1707]

So well said!

[@LyreAelgist]

When I was younger, my aunt used to make zong often for the family. I loved watching her make it, but I never got to learn how she did it so quickly. Ever since she passed away, my mom has since found a place that makes zong, but I missed the home-y feeling of making our own. The only thing ever stopping me and my mom from making the zong ourselves was learning how to wrap the darn things. Thank you for the video! It’s really well made and it helps a lot with teaching someone how to make it.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much for sharing that story. Your aunt's zongzi must have been amazing. We are so grateful that you have a recipe you can follow to recreate it! I hope it's helpful :)

[@angelajohnston1010]

Randy, your video is actually spreading our cultures. Showing the majority of Chinese families culture how Chinese people live. Great 👍 job!

[@debm460]

My family is from the same area in China and mom makes this! Love this video and glad you are sharing this. Very important to keep a record and to write down the recipe. The old traditions are being lost. Thank you for doing this.

[@angelajohnston1010]

我家在恩平， 我媽媽從開平來， 恩平， 開平，台山， 新會 是為四 邑； 我家的粽子沒有那麼多材料，不用花生 但是很好吃！我可以聽到你們還是有一些家鄕的囗音！棕 子是為了屈原才做的！

[@chungsunlau8407]

同係四邑人，多謝你嘅支持！老劉祝您和家人平安幸福！

[@angelajohnston1010]

@@chungsunlau8407 劉中山 ， 對嗎？我也祝福你們身體健康，生活愉快。

[@nancyleemacpa]

OMG! I am having a blast watching and cooking with the Lau family. Most of the dishes here are our family favorites and the best part, I can undestand Daddy Lau's Cantonese instructions.

[@CharlieChang]

I can't even imagine how long these videos take to make. Props!! Zongzi reminds me of home!

[@MadeWithLau]

Hahah thanks man. This one was a beast to edit.. probably 40-50 hours and multiple days of shooting. Worth it though!

[@ngwengseng7099]

Video is too long

[@hapachina]

I love the format of your video. Video is detailed which is helpful because you take the time to go through each step. I don't think it is long at all and I am sad when it is over. I love at the end when you all sit down to eat and talk. Just like when I was small, I would do that with my Chinese grandparents. Please keep doing what you're doing. You are preserving our culture which is so important. Also, it is important for others to learn about different cultures so we all see that we are all more similar than different.

[@angelajohnston1010]

@@hapachina 非常同意你嘅講法！劉伯伯 加油 💪！

[@angelajohnston1010]

而家嘅中文間到唔識怗讀！😓😟😩

[@gracec7414]

Love Uncle Lau!!! Also, love both listening to him in Cantonese, and my daughter can use your english translation!!! Love how Uncle Lau is so clear in explaining the recipe!!!

[@jamesye]

Thank you for this amazing recipe! Jong has been a tradition passed down in my family as well. I loved how papa lau talks about the differences between joong and Lo Mai gai. Both are delicious and would love to see Papa Lau's recipe for it and Lap Mei Fan

[@MadeWithLau]

Thanks so much James! So happy to hear you enjoyed watching this one. Would love to do one for Lo Mai Gai in the future 🙌 Will also add Lap Mei Fan to the list too!

[@danstamper1475]

I'm a American. One of my best friends I from China. His mother made these. Absolutely amazing. The perfect snack/meal.

[@uncaringbear]

My family and I made these this weekend (one week early before the Dragon boat festival). It was a lot of work, but thanks to your recipe, they turned out great, almost as good as the ones that mom used to make! Thank you for the great instructions and helping us keep our Hoisan heritage alive! I think mom would've been proud of our efforts!

[@hapachina]

I love Joong. Thank you for all of these family recipes. My Chinese Grandparents fed me these foods as a child and I still love them today!!

[@MadeWithLau]

Aw yay! We are so grateful that you found our channel, and we can’t wait to continue sharing many more recipes with you! ❤️

[@ivorybow]

I love Papa Lau's song to celebrate presenting them when being ready. I know that feeling of serving your loved ones and friends a beautifully prepared meal...there is nothing more satisfying.

[@craigh8832]

Hoon-doy sick joooooong! Thank you for the recipe. My parents used to make this for me when I was a younger! Now that both my parents have passed away, I missed eating joong! Now I can try this recipe! It is definitely a labor of love!

[@User5260jo]

I enjoy watching Daddy Lau cook and the way the whole family gather around to enjoy the meal. Precious!!!

[@lisakoegel4049]

When I was in high school one of the places called the oriental shop had these. Now I can make them myself. Thank you sooo much

[@JamieRoberts77]

Such a beautiful, loving family! And amazing zongzi! Thank you!

[@karatemom88]

I can't thank you enough for making this Joong recipe available. Luv the way you break down the ingredients, explanations from Daddy and Mommy Lau are top notch to say the least. I finally made the Joong today and it turned out quite good! Instead of boiling on the stove for 3 hours, I cooked them in Instant Pot for 1 hour. Both are delicious and my family was totally impressed! :-) Thank you for sharing this authentic Cantonese/Taishanese tradition with us!

[@lat38south]

I love that your channel teaches us traditional foods in English while your Dad demo along the way. So many wonderful Chinese cooking arts and dishes have lost in translation or totally rejected because audience don’t understand Cantonese. Keep up the excellent works! 端午安康！👍👍👍💖💕💕💕💕

[@kathywu1699]

I just made these on the weekend with friends, watching your video! As a chinese descendant growing up in Colombia 🇨🇴, we didn't t have easy (or none) access to chinese ingredients. So now I'm making them all the way from Australia, and they just tasted like home. Thank you for your detailed video! Your production and quality of the video is amazing. Love your family 💕

[@nexusyang4832]

These videos are literally capturing love and tradition, one frame at a time.

[@tny-]

man, those look delicious. all the ingredients look great on their own, i bet they're even better together. hard not to see the similarities to mexican tamales: wrapped in a native plant leaf/husk, made once a year for a holiday, usually a whole family affair because of the labor required. i guess steamed/boiled wrapped foods like this were probably pretty common around the world in history. really cool how the folding technique makes that unique, tight 4-cornered shape too.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you for the love! I actually didn't think of that connection until you said it - tamales are amazing. Humans around the world are so creative with food!

[@loream]

Yes, it also makes me think about pamonha, a dish from Brazil made with corn - similar to tamales

[@MadeWithLau]

@@loream Sounds delicious!!

[@jlemieu]

Many thanks for such generosity & taking the time to share your families knowledge with others. I love the care and attention to detail that you put into your videos. Our family will be making Joong this weekend! Keep up the great work.

[@raniathimoolam3603]

Dear Daddy Lau and family I love your simple and precise explanations ,all the fine details I really love Chinese food I am Malaysian Indian and grew up with Cantonese friends . Daddy's skill in cooking is matched with Randy's skill in his presentation how lucky we are! Thank you so much to Mummy Sr and Mummy Jr as well and darling Cam Cam growing up in front of us.love you all.😘

[@pwahyim]

Mummy Lau, you look great. Thanks for speaking to us in English. We can understand Daddy Lau, no problem.

[@evachan3261]

I’ve just made it this year. There is so much love in this video, really enjoy watching till the end!

[@usermid-xt2qr]

Thank you Chef Lau for the comprehensive instruction on Toisanese style zongzi. I grew up eating Jiangsu-style pork zongzi and as I learned to make them as a child from my mother, I can attest that his instruction hits on all the important details of zongzi preparation, assembly and cooking that many other resources online do not provide. One very important thing that Chef Lau pointed out is that the bamboo leaves should be 1) soaked then 2) boiled and then 3) wiped clean before use in order to give the softest, most pliable bamboo leaves for wrapping and the freshest, brightest tasting zongzi. I have seen online and have friends who only soak the leaves and immediately use them, thus ignoring that many of these leaves will be wasted because they will tear, and many will also have dirt and bugs on them, which are unappealing to encounter even if later boiled. As for the assembly, be patient - it takes practice to get a pretty package. The Chinese pay attention to the appearance of the wrap (just like we appreciate the quality of pleating when making baos and dumplings) but these skills are acquired gradually. Oneday, you will be able to wrap a single zongzi in less than 30 seconds, with no torn bamboo leaves and no leaking rice, and it will then be your turn to teach the next generation!

[@user-qg9kz1eq2j]

一家人好有口福父母会做广东菜过着幸福生活祝福你們家人各位健康平安快乐好運

[@MadeWithLau]

非常感謝您的祝福和支持！老劉衷心祝您及家人幸福安康！如意吉祥！

[@Tropical241]

My dad is Toisan and his sister made these every week and sold them out of a bucket on the church stoop in SF Chinatown. Thank you for preserving this recipe. It's something you don't often get to buy and only enjoy when an auntie makes and shares them. I was always told that it was to hard to make but now I feel I can try with my parents. Your videos are next level. Love the measurements on Canto cooking. The missing key!!

[@chriscooper1978]

I’ve been wanting to make these after having first watched your video two years ago. I finally gave it a try with my daughter yesterday, and they turned out great! We ended up with a batch of ~45 joong. Thank you so much for sharing your family stories, culture, and knowledge with so many!

[@Jonathan_Tee]

i really dig this channel! Love how you bring all the traditional chinese dishes to the world to see, and for us ABC's that grew up here in america that want to learn how to make their favorite childhood dishes! BIG PROPS TO THE LAU FAMILY!

[@josephlai9759]

One of my all time favourite! All our neighbourhood mums and grannies join force to make them in the common backyard. Such fun and celebration. Thanks for showing our Chinese priceless treasure. Brings back fond memories always.

[@azncount]

This channel is so amazing! Really helps me as a Canto ABC get more in touch with my culture and traditional cooking. Thanks so much and please keep these videos coming!

[@kls7359]

I love Daddy Lau, love listening to him speak Cantonese. Going to start having my boys watch and cook his recipes....

[@MadeWithLau]

Aw that's awesome Kimberly! We hope they enjoy watching and maybe even helping you to cook them as well! 😋

[@seadub1958]

Hello from Vancouver, Canada. Thank you for capturing this on video and preserving Toisanese culture/traditional foods. Like many early Chinese immigrants, my family's roots are also from the same area as your parents. Thx for the heart warming memories.

[@MadeWithLau]

Toisanese unite! So grateful to receive this all the way from Vancouver

[@seadub1958]

@@MadeWithLau I subscribed to your channel a month ago and have really enjoyed your Mom and Dad passing on their legacy recipes and experiences. Your love for your parents and your own family really shines through. I really appreciate your parent's Cantonese commentary. Do they also speak their home Toisanese dialect? I speak both and am grateful that I can converse with the older generation that immigrated directly from Toisan.

[@MadeWithLau]

@@seadub1958 thank you so much for subscribing :) we're so glad to hear that you've been enjoying our videos and stories! we really appreciate all the love. they speak it amongst themselves sometimes but mostly in Cantonese. they do say some words in Toisanese to our baby which is really cute haha.

[@i.liad.a]

Thank you Randy and fam! My family is Toisanese too and my grandma wraps joong the same way your parents do. I have fond memories of watching her assemble these in our kitchen. My grandma's joong fillings were pretty much like how Mommy Lau described her own mother's joong--very sparse and just 3 ingredients. I can't wait to make my own joong chock full of ingredients and give them to grandma. Thank you again

[@yienasalin3842]

Thank you for sharing this recipe with us, it brings me fond memories of my mother when she was with us.

[@cathysripramong7519]

This is really great to see you keeping this alive. My mother recently suffered a severe stroke and may never be able to cook or share her recipes, wish we could have captured her like you did your parents. His joy in cooking and feeding is the the same joy my Mah had. Thank you for sharing!! My Mah is non-verbal but your dad is sure bringing a smile to her face!!

[@MadeWithLau]

Hi Cathy! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us. I just shared at dinner with the family and it make us all so happy to hear. Mom specifically said we hope that as you continue to watch our videos will help with your mother's recover and will continue to bring her happiness!

[@kimslau]

From one Lau to another Lau thank you for this video and the strong family values you share.. Go Laus

[@dowlingadvisor]

I like hearing the stories. You have a wonderfully warm family with so much to share.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much Dan! We're so glad to hear that you're loving the stories :) Those are some of my favorite things to capture!

[@islandgirlsuretoshine6827]

Hong Doy is so cuuuuute!!! I remember calling my nephew “Doy” too.

[@rAyBieS25]

this vid brought back a lot of memories of helping my grandma make joongs. she boiled them in huge metal buckets on the stove in a small nyc apartment. it got insanely hot in the apartment but totally worth it. she'd crank out 100s of them for the family every year. definitely one of my favorite comfort foods. thanks for sharing.

[@darwinkius]

Daddy Lau is such a hard worker and he is so committed to perfection I almost cry when I watch him prepare his amazing dishes ♥️

[@edzhao]

One of my favorite dishes!!! Definitely making this this weekend!

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you Ed! Save me some hahaha

[@dowlingadvisor]

Absolutely love these excellent videos. Thank you for sharing a part of your family.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you so much Dan! We really appreciate the love and we're grateful to share more with you :)

[@adriant3749]

Thank you Mama Lau for showing us how to make the 粽子. You did an awesome job!👏🥰💪

[@honnysuhuyanli2056]

I learn to wrap joong from my grandmother when I was 10 and I'm grateful...watching your video brings back my memories with her

[@MadeWithLau]

So grateful that our video could bring back happy memories Honny Suhuyanli! Amazing that you learned at 10 from your grandmother ❤️

[@evyveikos920]

I used to have these almost every morning for breakfast and would stash them in my bag for lunch when working in Guangzhou. I'm excited to try to make them. Thank you for all these simple, beautiful, well organized and informative videos.

[@MadeWithLau]

Omg what an awesome breakfast to be able to have. We love them so much I could eat 3 in one sitting 😆 Can't wait for you to try out the recipe. Hope it tastes just like the ones you used to have!

[@arenalam2787]

Always feels like a treat when unwrapping a zongzi ☺️ love the yummy fillings you included in your zongzi!!

[@MadeWithLau]

THE BESTTTT! Thanks Arena!

[@seitch1]

This is legit TS zong. The fillings are high quality and plentiful and wrapping and the shapes are perfect. Thank you for documenting this.

[@MadeWithLau]

Wonderful! We are so happy you think so and enjoyed watching. They really are so delicious to eat 😋! So grateful we were able to document too and really happy you found us :)

[@lucindanichols4901]

What a beautiful video! Joong is one of my favorite dishes, and I love knowing the background of this recipe. Labor of love, for sure!

[@eMii171]

Thank you very much for sharing this video, my family is also Toisanese and I grew up eating Joong that my Yin yin made. I am so grateful and excited to be able to make them for my future children.

[@greenrx3744]

This was great. Thanks to you and your wonderful parents for sharing this family recipe.

[@tianya9408]

Thanks for producing this video. Let me share my experience after doing this for over 30 years. #1. I don't boil the leaves, I put a small amount of vinegar or potassium carbonate & sodium carbonate solution （堿水） in the water to soak the leaves briefly, then rinse off a couple of times. #2. I marinate the pork with salt and five spice only for 3 days. #3. I make my own salty egg yoke by submerging fresh eggs in brine ( 1:6 ratio) for 42 days. Separate the yoke and white when they are ready or they will disintegrate very shortly. The egg whites are excellent to use in oatmeal, soup etc. But you have to be careful while separating them. If the white is tainted with some yoke, it goes bad quickly. So I separate each egg separately and put the pure white and tainted white in separate jars. The pure white can last up to a couple of months in the refrigerator. #4. I soak the rice only about 10 minutes so my cooking time is 6 hours on the stove. The longer you soak the rice, the less cooking time but the end result is different, depending how firm you like the zong zi. I recently start to use Instant Pot to cook them. 40 minutes cook time and let the steam release naturally. My 8 quart IP can cook 10 at a time. That saves me the trouble of watching the fire and adding boiling water constantly over the cooking time. Do change to fresh water with the subsequent batch and I start with boiling water to cut down the heating up time. #5 the strings can also be used again for the next batch. A little gesture to the 4 Rs- reduce, reuse, recycle, recover. Your dad is so right about the difference of 糯米鷄 and zong zi.

[@jeffchewsj]

This is awesome. We had this in our family and the recipe was lost... Thank you....We love your vids.

[@beckyhui8238]

I love rice dumplings and it is indeed a lot of work to make them yourself! I have done it before and the taste of home is really worth it! Your videos are so heartwarming, your papa and mama really impart all their culinary knowledge with all their heart! Plus all those extra research and science facts!! Really kudos to you guys! 😊

[@MedEvil1c]

This video brings back memories. I used to watch/ help my mom wrap every year. She learned from her mom as a teenager as well. While I know each family has different recipe/ ingredients for the filling, I was happy to see another family used the same wrapping style. When my mum came to Canada many years ago, it was difficult to find a recipe book that featured her home town wrapping style. :) in my mind that is the "correct" way. Thank you! There is one family tip I wanted to mention. That is eating style. My family uses the cotton string to cleanly cut the zongzi in pieces (holding it on index fingers much like you would while holding dental floss or a garrote) and ate directly on the leaves (less residue to clean on dishes).

[@elainev670]

So happy I found this video. Joong is really one of those very laborious dish to make. In my memory, it's always a 2 day affair. I couldn't mutter the courage to make this as an adult after both my grand mothers passed away. This video brings back memories of childhood. Thanks for the video 😊

[@marjchan]

I am new to your channel. Looking forward to going into the channel offerings. As one in her upper years, I have memories of what my grandmother used to make for us when younger. But no one around to capture and teach what was back then. Now I long to find some food memories. I see many here. Thank you for creating this channel for us all to treasure too.

[@neville3151]

My wife and her friends get together once a year to make joong. They make 70 to 80 joong together in an all day assembly line and each variety is marked by a different way the leaves are tied up with string. A lot of work, but good eating.

[@karilynn3535]

LOVE your website with your magical recipe update....fantastic.

[@marcdeleon5706]

Epic! This was my favorite dim sum as a kid and is still is! Now I can try making them. Thank you so much for this video. Your videos make me feel nostalgic, remembering my Chinese dad and grandparents...

[@jadeforest4441]

WoW ... we love this snack!!! We Will pump up our muscles and our attention and focus and let your parents guide us!!! Your dad and mom are my inspiration every day. My dad is Chinese but never taught me how to cook Chinese. Please Thank Your parents and thank yourself and the edities team! You are doing a great job for preserving The Chinese style of cooking Hermitage for our world.

[@reneebailey9958]

Love joong! Very clear instructions and in Hawaii we use ti leaves to wrap it. Thank you for posting this labor of love! It is truly comfort food in our family and the whole family gathers when we make large batches.

[@MadeWithLau]

So grateful to hear you enjoyed this one Renee! Awesome to hear you do something similar in Hawaii!!

[@viviansimes3630]

Thank you mama Lau....for sharing💖💖💖.... sharing. So very grateful 💝....🙋🙋🙋.

[@MadeWithLau]

Thank you for the thanks to mama Lau Vivian! 🥰❤️

[@modernshaver3356]

This is the best joong making video I have seen. Thank you for making it for us. I miss making them with my mom and I look forward to continuing the family tradition.

[@LAfoodies]

You are so fortunate to enjoy three generations of your family dining together. Enjoy!

[@peterwong1231]

Love your videos! Brings back so many memories making food with my parents and grandparents. Thank you!

[@chrismoy1918]

I love the videos, Watching your dad cook bring back memories of my mom. It's like watching my mom in the kitchen and speaking Toisanese. Great time, please continue share all the great memories

[@MadeWithLau]

So happy that dad can remind you of your mom. We are grateful you found our channel and hope that with each video you watch it brings back so many happy memories 🥰

[@randytow]

Thank you The Lau family, please continue your videos as very informative

[@gildasaito]

Thank you Lau Family i love to try making this 💕

[@serenakang3216]

Thank You for your video! love it. God Bless The Laus!

[@saigonsaigon5039]

Thank you so much. This bring back so much of my childhood memories. ♥️

[@MadeWithLau]

Oh so happy to hear that! We hope if you are able to make the recipe in the future it tastes just like home!

[@plentyrockz]

Thank you putting videos like this together! Also thank you for taking the time to put subtitles in english and chinese!

[@MadeWithLau]

You are so welcome! Thanks so much for watching and for your support. Happy to hear you enjoy seeing the subtitles in both Chinese and English 😊