'Bak' means 'pork' and 'chang' means 'dumpling' in Hokkien. Or us cantonese will just call it 'jung'.
My previous confinement lady, Wan Cheh made and gave me a big bag of Hokkien 'jung' recently. When I received it, the delicious smell of freshly made 'jung' was oh-so-yummy! I just couldn't wait to devour it! My mother in law also made some Nyonya Bak Chang as well. Those are my hubby's favourites!!!
So what is this Bak Chang Festival?
Bak Chang Festival also known as Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Besides Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival (or Mid Autumn Festival) and Winter Solstice Festival (or 'Kor Tung'/'Tong Yuen' Festival), this is also one of the most celebrated festivals amongst Chinese community. Or at least we enjoy eating the bak chang :) :) If you want to know about the Legend of the Dragon Boat Festival (or the Legend ogf Poet Chu Yuan) and how 'bak chang'/'jung' in cantonese was created, check out this site. An interesting read.
http://www.geocities.com/machesticdragons/legend.html
Come to think of it. Since my kiddo days, Chinese legends are sort of lost amongst the newer generations. I used to enjoy listening to Chinese tales and legends including the 5 beauties of China, 7 Fairies ('chat sin lui') and lots more. I don't hear them anymore. Such a pity. Perhaps I'll dig out some and tell them to my children as bed time stories.
2 comments:
That is true. Even the songs which we used to listen to as kids are hardly heard of anymore eg. Yuet Kong Kong (Moon Bright Bright). I surprise myself when I suddenly remember some.
Ya lo! So sad isn't it? I'm going to try and dig up some. Share with you later ya.
BTW long overdue for our crabby session :)
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