Huangba (Chuannan Method)

Taste: Sweet; Cooking Method: Steaming; Time: One Day; Difficulty: Advanced.

Steps for Cooking Huangba (Chuannan Method)

Soak the large glutinous rice in water after removing impurities.

Cut the pork fat into small pieces; cut the rice into coarse pieces with less water content to make rice milk.

Grind the brown sugar into small pieces; grind the orange red into powder.

Soak the bamboo leaves in water until they become soft, then wash off the hair and trim the ends for later use.

Steam the rice. After draining the water from the soaked rice, put it in a steaming basket and steam it for about 2 hours until it is fully cooked.

Mix the ingredients. Take a large bowl and mix the brown sugar, pork fat, orange red, and rice milk together. Add the cooked glutinous rice and stir until well mixed. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water until it is fully mixed. The heat will bring out the flavors of the sugar, pork, and orange red, and the mixture will turn a light yellow color.

Let it cool. After mixing, let the rice cool down a bit. Take a bamboo leaf and put a small amount of rice on it.

Shape the rice. Fold the two sides of the leaf towards the center, forming a rough rectangular shape. Then fold the two ends towards the center, forming a longer rectangular shape. Tie the ends of the leaf together to secure the rice inside.

Dry the rice. Place each rice bundle separately with the folded side facing up for 2-6 hours to allow excess water to seep out through the bamboo leaves.

Steam the rice again. Stand the rice bundles upright in a steaming basket, making sure not to stack them too high to avoid affecting their shape. Steam them on high heat for about 90 minutes, then switch to low heat and steam (dry) for 4-8 hours until fully cooked. Drain the water. After the cooked rice has cooled down a bit, let it dry separately to reduce its water content and increase its hardness for longer storage. (The picture shows the freshly cooked rice bundles.)

Store the rice. Usually, after making the rice bundles, they are left at room temperature for about 7 days in winter. Mold spots may appear on the surface of the bamboo leaves. At this point, steam the rice bundles again, then let them dry and they are ready to eat. This method can be repeated up to 2 times. (The picture shows the rice bundles after they have cooled down.)