‘BAK chang’, in Hokkien, is a kind of glutinous rice dumpling that is traditionally eaten by the Chinese during the annual Dragon Boat Festival.
The festival, which is also known as Duan Wu Jie (in Mandarin), is widely celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. For this year, it falls on June 14.
The tradition of serving ‘bak chang’ during the festival is considered one of the most important events in the lunar calendar. It is to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a famous poet in the Chu Kingdom in China.
Folklore has it that he drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC after trying in vain to counsel his king. And when the people in the area came to know of the incident, they cast rice dumplings into the river, hoping that the fish would eat the rice dumplings without harming Qu Yuan’s body.
Even now, as Malaysia grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, the tradition of celebrating the festival is still being practised by the Malaysian Chinese as well as by the Chinese all over the world.
With just days before the festival arrives, a family in Jalan Besar, Simpang Ampat, is busy making and selling ‘bak chang’.
When entering their shop, one could smell the nice aroma of the ‘bak chang’.
According to Helen Lee, who is one of the family members operating the business, their family has been in the business since 2003.
“Before the implementation of MCO, many came as far as Penang island and other states to buy our bak chang.
“However, with the banning of inter-state and inter-district travel under the current total lockdown, our orders have been much reduced compared to previous years.
“We have no choice but to carry on our business,” Lee told Buletin Mutiara in an interview recently.
One key to making delicious ‘bak chang’, she said, was how well you could control the heat.
“We need to make sure the heat is just nice to ensure a good taste.
“We will have a person responsible to manage the heat, and ensure all the dumplings are evenly heated,” she said.
For this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, they are selling only two types of rice dumplings, namely traditional meat dumplings and nyonya meat dumplings.
“In the past, we have developed a variety of flavours, but due to a lack of manpower, we could only focus on these two types of dumplings.
“And also, once you have tried our rice dumplings, I am sure you won’t have regret,” she said smilingly.
The Lee family’s traditional meat dumplings are sold at RM7.50 while the nyonya meat dumplings are sold at RM6 each.
Bukit Tambun assemblyman Goh Choon Aik, who has tasted the delicious rice dumplings filled with numerous fillings, told Buletin Mutiara that the Lee’s ‘bak chang’ business was passed on from one generation to another.
“It has its own tradition and values. They also have won aplenty trophies in various competitions.
“With this lockdown, their business has been severely affected. I hope things will get better so that they, as well as many others, will be able to continue with their livelihood,” he said.
Story by Edmund Lee