Savoury zongzi

Put a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the water and boil the dried bamboo leaves for five minutes, weighting them under the water if they do not fit.

Turn off the heat, take the leaves out and soak them in water overnight so they become stronger and flexible.

Cut the chicken to size and marinate with the soy sauce, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, five spice and salt. Refrigerate overnight.

Wash the glutinous rice until the water runs clear and soak overnight. Soak the mushroom, shrimps, dry scallop and peanuts in water overnight.

Drain everything. Cut the mushroom small and squeeze out the excess water; rip the scallop into small pieces.

Stir fry the mushroom, shrimp, scallop and peanuts in the vegetable oil over medium heat for three minutes.

Season the filling with black pepper, salt and soy sauce, then turn off the heat and set aside.

Drain the glutinous rice and mix in the sugar, salt, dark soy sauce and sesame oil.

Tie one end of the rope to a door handle.

Take two bamboo leaves, wipe the water off, fluffy stem side down and smooth side up, and lay them one on top of the other.

Fold at about three eighths of the length into an ice cream cone shape with no hole at the bottom.

Put a tablespoon of glutinous rice in and press it down tightly, add the fried filling, the chicken and one salty egg yolk, then cover with more rice and press flat.

Press the two sides in with thumb and forefinger, fold the upper leaves down, wrap along the surface following the shape, and tie a few circles of rope from the centre.

Boil in water that completely covers the zongzi, weighting any that float, bringing it to a boil then down to low heat for two and a half hours for a medium size.

A smaller zongzi takes about two hours and a bigger one about three; add more water during cooking if needed.