Meet Hong Kong’s 84-year-old queen of Dragon Boat rice dumplings
Great-grandmother Tai Lin, who has been making the leaf-wrapped delicacies for decades for her 30 family members, shares her recipe with us
Despite her advanced age, Tai Lin is very busy these days making rice dumplings for her extended family of over 30 people. One of the walls of her small Sai Wan Ho flat is covered with pictures of her seven children, 13 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
“They all love to eat my rice dumplings so I make them every year. This year I’ve made them several times already since there are so many family members to give them to. I gave a few to my oldest son and he and his family ate them so quickly that I gave him more,” she says with a smile. How much can I eat myself? I make them for my children.”
Watch Grandma Tai making rice dumplings
The 84-year-old sets out the mahjong table in her living room with a plastic container of bamboo leaves that have been boiled to make them more malleable, as well as pre-soaked glutinous rice, halved salted egg yolks, peeled mung beans, and pork seasoned with five-spice and Shaoxing wine.
As Tai is Hakka, she explains they like to have more ingredients in the filling, and adds a mixture of dried shrimps, shallots and crushed peanuts that give more flavour and texture.