The Lantern Festival is almost upon us, and that means only one thing: it’s time to start eating sticky rice dumplings. Most store-bought dumplings are made by machines. But some cooks are still making them the old-fashioned way.
After a quick boil, the cook rolls a peanut filling in a basket of rice flour. He’s making sticky rice dumplings, a Lantern Festival specialty. Then he rolls them again and again - nine more times. One cook says that’s essential. He says rolling it so many times helps the flour build up layer by layer. That makes for a thick, tasty dumpling.
It’s a time-consuming process, and you can only make twenty at a time. But customers swear by them. One woman says they taste like fresh Japanese mochi.
It’s not just professional cooks who make them. This store owner sets up a traditional dumpling stall every Lantern Festival. This year they made 50,000 and sold out in four days. He says they made more than normal this year. Staff had to work 12-hour days from 8am to 8pm to get the job done.
Making dumplings by hand is slower than using a machine. But both flavor and texture are undeniably better. With dumplings as with life, it seems patience is a virtue.