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Zongzi (粽子, zòngzi) are parcels of glutinous rice wrapped in leaves and then boiled or steamed. In English they’re usually called sticky rice dumplings or rice dumplings. They can be sweet or savory, the leaves are most commonly bamboo or reed, and they’re most strongly tied to the Dragon Boat Festival, though plenty of people eat them year round.
When I was a kid, we never bought zongzi. My grandmother, my mom’s mother, made all of ours. In the week before the festival she’d get busy, and the first sign was always the smell: she’d bring home fresh bamboo leaves, and that clean, green scent filled the whole kitchen. Even as a child, I found it calming.
She was quick with her hands, looping a long string over a low wooden stool and wrapping one zongzi after another straight down the line, small neat triangles, every one almost the same size. Hers were always 红枣粽 (hóng zǎo zòng, red date zongzi), so for years I assumed zongzi came in exactly one flavor. That flavor was sweet but never heavy, no added sugar, just the rice and the dates. She’d hand them out to relatives and neighbors and keep the rest for us, and for days I’d eat one a day like a little snack. The ones you buy now are big and come in every flavor under the sun, but none of them taste like hers.
This guide covers what’s inside zongzi, the main regional types, how to wrap and cook them, how to reheat the ones you buy, and a simple recipe you can actually make at home.
What Is Zongzi Made Of?
At its simplest, a zongzi is soaked glutinous rice packed into a folded leaf, sometimes around a filling, then tied shut and cooked in water until the rice turns soft and sticky. Three things shape the result:
The rice: Glutinous rice, also sold as sticky or sweet rice, is what gives zongzi their dense, chewy texture. It isn’t actually sweet on its own.
The leaves: Most zongzi use bamboo or reed leaves. Other large leaves, including lotus or banana leaves, appear in some regional traditions. The leaves aren’t eaten; they hold the shape and pass on a faint grassy aroma.
The filling: This is where regions split. Sweet versions lean on red dates, red bean paste, or nothing at all. Savory ones center on fatty pork, salted duck egg yolk, mung bean, mushroom, or dried shrimp.
Different Types of Zongzi
There’s no single zongzi. The biggest split is sweet versus savory, which roughly tracks north and south, but the regional styles are where it gets interesting.
| Type | Region | Typical Fillings | Sweet or Savory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red date zongzi | Northern China | Red dates, sometimes red beans | Sweet |
| Jiaxing zongzi | Jiaxing, eastern China | Fatty pork belly, soy-seasoned rice | Savory |
| Cantonese zongzi | Guangdong | Pork, salted egg yolk, mung bean, sometimes chestnut | Savory |
| Taiwanese northern | Northern Taiwan | Pre-fried glutinous rice, pork, mushroom, dried shrimp | Savory |
| Taiwanese southern | Southern Taiwan | Raw rice and fillings, boiled | Savory |
| Jianshui zongzi | Southern China | Alkaline-water rice, plain or sometimes filled | Usually plain or sweet |
A few notes worth knowing. Cantonese zongzi (广式粽) tend to be large and rich, often with a whole salted egg yolk at the center. Jianshui zongzi (碱水粽, jiǎn shuǐ zòng) are made with food-grade alkaline water, which turns the rice golden and slightly springy; they’re usually eaten plain or dipped in sugar. Taiwanese northern and southern styles differ mainly in method: the northern kind steams pre-seasoned rice, so it’s drier and more separate, while the southern kind boils everything raw, so it comes out softer and stickier. People hold strong opinions about which is better, and I’m not going to settle that here.
How to Wrap Zongzi
Wrapping is the part that takes practice. I tried to learn from my grandmother more than once, and my rice always spilled or my ties came loose and the whole thing fell apart. She’d redo it, laugh, and say, “Never mind, go play.” So treat your first batch as practice.
The basic method for a triangular zongzi:
- Soak and clean the leaves. Soak dried bamboo leaves for several hours or overnight, then simmer them for a few minutes to soften and clean them. Wipe each one down.
- Form a cone. Take one or two overlapping leaves and fold them into a cone with a closed point at the bottom, no gaps.
- Add rice and filling. Spoon in soaked glutinous rice, press a date or your filling into the middle, then top with more rice. Don’t overfill; the rice swells as it cooks.
- Fold it shut. Fold the long leaf tail down over the opening to make a tight triangle, tucking in the sides so no rice escapes.
- Tie it off. Wrap kitchen twine around the parcel several times and knot it. Snug, not strangling. Loose ties can let the rice escape and make the parcel fall apart.
For a visual demonstration of the folding and tying technique, this step-by-step zongzi tutorial shows how to form, close, and secure the parcel. The exact shape and filling may differ from the small red date zongzi in this recipe.
For wrapping you’ll need dried bamboo leaves and cotton kitchen twine. Buy a few extra leaves because some may split during soaking or folding.
How to Make Zongzi: A Simple Red Date Recipe
This is the sweet style I grew up with, stripped down to rice and dates. It’s a good first recipe because there’s no meat to season or marinate, and the only skill to build is the fold.
Makes: about 10 small zongzi
Active time: 1 hour, plus soaking and cooking
Ingredients:
- 2 cups glutinous rice (about 380–400 g), soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight
- 24 to 30 dried bamboo leaves, allowing extras for leaves that split
- 20 to 30 dried red dates (jujube), pitted, 2 to 3 per zongzi (adjust to taste)
- Cotton kitchen twine
Steps:
- Soak the rice. Rinse the glutinous rice until the water runs clear, then soak it for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Drain before using.
- Prep the leaves. Soak the bamboo leaves for several hours or overnight until pliable. Simmer them for 5 to 10 minutes, or follow the package directions, then rinse and wipe each leaf clean.
- Prep the dates. Rinse the red dates and pit them. Dried jujube have a hard stone, so removing it makes the zongzi easier to eat.
- Wrap. Fold a leaf into a cone, add a spoon of rice, press in 2 to 3 pitted dates or more, top with more rice, fold into a tight triangle, and tie with twine. Repeat.
- Boil. Pack the zongzi snugly in a deep pot, cover them fully with water, and weigh them down with a heatproof plate so they stay submerged. Bring to a boil, reduce to a steady simmer, and cook these small red date zongzi for about 2 hours. Check every 30 minutes and top up only with boiling water. Larger or more tightly packed zongzi may need 2.5 to 3 hours.
- Check, rest, and serve. Open one zongzi to check the rice is tender all the way through, and simmer the rest longer if the center is still firm. Otherwise lift them out and rest them 20 to 30 minutes before unwrapping. Eat warm, plain or with a little sugar.
You’ll get the best texture with good glutinous rice and dried red dates (jujube). For a savory version, use a tested savory zongzi recipe rather than swapping the fillings one for one, since the seasoning, meat preparation, parcel size, and cooking time all change.
How to Cook Zongzi
Most zongzi made with soaked raw rice are boiled or gently simmered, which keeps the parcels surrounded by heat and helps the rice cook evenly. Some regional styles are steamed, especially when the rice has been partly cooked before wrapping.
How long to boil zongzi: For the small red date zongzi in this recipe, allow about 2 hours at a steady simmer. Medium or larger parcels commonly need 2.5 to 3 hours, while very large, densely filled savory versions can take longer. In a pressure cooker, many zongzi cook in about 50 to 60 minutes at high pressure, followed by a natural pressure release. Follow your cooker’s liquid and maximum-fill guidance.
Steaming zongzi: Steaming is used for some regional styles, including versions made with pre-cooked or stir-fried rice. For this beginner red date recipe made with soaked raw rice, boiling is the more reliable method.
How to Reheat Zongzi
Most people aren’t wrapping from scratch; they’re reheating store-bought or leftover zongzi. Steaming is the best method because it adds moisture back and restores the chewy texture.
Steaming: Heat chilled zongzi for 10 to 15 minutes, or frozen ones for 20 to 30 minutes, until hot in the center.
Boiling: Drop them in simmering water, 10 minutes from chilled or 20 to 30 minutes from frozen.
Microwave: Remove any outer plastic packaging, foil, or metal fasteners first, and follow the package directions for store-bought zongzi. The microwave is the fastest but least reliable option. Unwrap or loosen the leaf, sprinkle the zongzi with water, cover it with a damp paper towel, and microwave in 30-second bursts. From frozen, thaw first or the outside overcooks before the middle thaws. Microwaved zongzi can turn rubbery, so use this when you’re in a hurry, not when you want them at their best.
A stovetop bamboo steamer is handy for reheating, though note it holds only a few at a time and isn’t a substitute for a deep pot when you’re boiling a full raw batch.
Storage: Let cooked zongzi cool, then refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to 2 months. Reheat until steaming hot in the center.
How to Eat Zongzi
Unwrap the leaf and twine first; they’re packaging, not food. After that it depends on the filling. Sweet red date or red bean zongzi are eaten as is, or with a light dip of sugar. Savory pork or egg-yolk zongzi are a small meal on their own, sometimes with chili oil or a splash of soy. Jianshui zongzi are usually dipped in sugar or syrup.
They’re traditionally eaten around the Dragon Boat Festival in late spring or early summer, but you’ll find them year round in many Asian groceries. One honest warning from a lifetime of eating them: zongzi are heavy and satisfying, so one or two is usually plenty in a sitting. I learned that the hard way as a kid, with my grandmother’s zongzi always around.
Where to Buy Zongzi
The easiest place is a Chinese or other Asian supermarket, especially in the weeks around the festival, when fresh and frozen ones appear near the front of the store. Asian bakeries and some restaurants sell them too.
When you buy a package, check whether the zongzi inside are fully cooked or raw, because the reheating or cooking instructions are completely different for each.
Online options exist but are limited. Good ready-made zongzi are awkward to ship, frozen stock sells out fast around the holiday, and the selection is thin the rest of the year. If you can’t find them locally, you’ll often have better luck buying the ingredients and wrapping your own than tracking down a decent finished one online.
Zongzi Calories
Calories vary a lot with size and filling, so the package label, or a quick calculation from your own recipe, tells you more than any single standard number. Plain and red date zongzi are generally lighter, while the big ones loaded with pork belly, salted egg yolk, or chestnut are much richer. Either way, glutinous rice is dense and filling, so one zongzi is usually enough for a snack or a light meal.
Zongzi FAQ
What Does Zongzi Mean in English?
There’s no perfect translation. Zongzi are usually called sticky rice dumplings or rice dumplings in English, though they’re not dumplings in the wheat-wrapper sense.
How Do You Say Zongzi in Chinese?
The Chinese is 粽子, written in pinyin as zòngzi. The festival itself is 端午节 (duānwǔ jié), the Dragon Boat Festival.
What Fillings Can Be Wrapped in Zongzi?
Common sweet fillings are red dates, red bean paste, and jianshui style with no filling at all. Common savory fillings are pork belly, salted duck egg yolk, mung bean, mushroom, dried shrimp, and chestnut. Regional cooks mix and match well beyond this list.
How Long Does It Take to Cook Zongzi?
For small red date zongzi, allow about 2 hours at a steady simmer, kept fully submerged. Larger parcels can need 2.5 to 3 hours, and a pressure cooker takes around 50 to 60 minutes plus a natural release.
Can You Eat Zongzi Cold?
You can, and some people like sweet ones chilled, but they’re firmer and stickier cold. Most zongzi taste best warm, which is why reheating matters.
If you want the story behind the holiday these belong to, my Dragon Boat Festival guide covers its history, legends, and customs. And if you’d like the next walk-through like this to land in your inbox, you can join the Stellar Chinese list on the site, then save this one for when bamboo leaves show up at the market next spring.