When I lived in Honolulu and went to Chinatown on the Saturdays to buy snacks, I would often buy a joong from the pastry shop. It was also a frequent selection from the steam cart on occasions for dim sum. On my last trip to Honolulu, I went to my favorite pastry shop (since resurrected in a similar storefront), Sing Cheong Yuan, to buy some macadamia nut candy to bring home for "moonyagi" (bastardized version of "omiyage", courtesy of my Portuguese-Italian friend in Kihei). In addition to the box of macadamia nut candy blocks, and a baggie of li hing bittermelon (for Mom and Dad), I left with a longing to eat joong. The shop had several varieties of joong sitting on the pastry case, and I was so tempted to buy the pork-egg joong. Practicality got the better of me, and I left empty handed, but not without a cause. . .I would make my own joong.
I already had a jar full of salted eggs, so all I needed to buy was a few things and look for some help with seasoning. Seemed simple, and the gathering of the ingredients was the easy part, especially when I opted to use ti leaves (instead of bamboo leaves) to wrap the joong.
Call me what you will, but my idea of joong uses black-eyed peas instead of mung beans. I also added lup cheong for additional flavor.
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| mochi rice and black eyed peas (soaked overnight) |
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| seasoned pork belly |
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| raw salted egg yolks |
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| sliced lup cheong |
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| mise en place ingredients |
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| joong composition: rice, pork, yolk, lup cheong, rice. Popo Wu in Taiwan adds a chestnut too. |
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| wrapping joong |
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| tying joong |
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| boiling joong |
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| Joong is ready! |
2 lbs mochi rice
4 tbsp (scant) rock salt, divided per recipe directions
1/2 c black eyed peas
10 salted duck/chicken egg yolks, raw
1 lb pork belly
2 lup cheong, each sliced diagonally into 5 pieces
1 1/2 tsp 5-spice
20 ti leaves, cleaned and de-ribbed
string to tie
Begin the night before by washing mochi rice. Add water to cover and add 2 tbsp rock salt to the water. Rinse black eyed peas and add to mochi rice. Let soak overnight. Cut pork into 10 pieces. Season with 5-spice and remaining 1 1/2 tbsp salt. Chill overnight.
The next day, heat a large pot of boiling water. Roll 2 ti leaves into a cylinder and plunge into boiling water. Lay flat. Repeat with remainder of ti leaves. Drain rice/bean mixture. Arrange all ingredients. Take 2 ti leaves and overlap them with a 2" stagger. Fold in half to form a corner. Place 1/2 c rice/bean mixture into corner. Place 1 yolk, 1 piece pork, and 1 slice lup cheong onto rice. Cover with another 1/2 c rice/bean mixture. Fold ti leaves to completely encase rice and filling so a 4-sided pyramid is formed (3 faces and a base). Use string to tie bundle securely. Place joongs in a large pot. Cover with water. Add 1 tsp rock salt, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 3 hours. Remove joong from pot and place on a rack to drain. Serve immediately, chill, or freeze. Leftovers may be reheated in the microwave.
I was busy last week, catching up with friends. I had lunch with Edz on Wednesday and Brucie on Thursday. Edz leaves on Thursday for the City of Brotherly Love, and Brucie will be on his way to the Forbidden City soon. I wish both of them safe travels.
This week should be interesting...I'm lunching with the Rents today (belated Mother's/Father's Day celebration), brunching with A tomorrow, and going into the office again on Wednesday. I wish I could escape work. I think I will try and make this the last day of work for a while. I need my summer.
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| Brucie! |
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