Zongzi with Pork Belly and Meigan Cai – 梅干菜肉粽 by: Judy 0 Comments Jump to Recipe Posted:6/03/2022Updated:6/03/2022 Time for our newest zongzi recipe: zongzi with pork belly and meigan cai (preserved vegetables).We’re celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival today, and we’re doing it this year with these tasty parcels!  Combining Two Classics This recipe combines two classics: sticky rice zongzi (sometimes called sticky rice “dumplings” or “Chinese tamales,” though “sticky rice parcels” is probably more accurate!) and pork belly braised with sweet soy sauce and dried preserved vegetables.We’ve seen zongzi in China stuffed with this delicious mixture, and while no one in our family grew up with this particular type of zongzi, we instantly recognized it as a brilliant idea.  There’s so much sticky rice in a savory zongzi, you need rich, strong flavors to balance it out.

While we’ve made zongzi with pork belly before, the salty-sweet braised pork belly with meigan cai has its own special taste! Pumping Up the Flavor That said, we did have to pump up the flavor for the pork belly here, adding more sugar and salt than we normally would if we were just making it to serve on its own.  Why?Well, zongzi do have to cook for a long time! It takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours in an Instant Pot (including time for natural pressure release) or 4-5 hours on the stove.  The zongzi must be tied tightly enough to keep th

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