The Peranakan version of the Chinese zongzi, instantly recognisable by a patch of vivid blue rice stained with butterfly-pea flower. Filled with minced pork, candied winter melon and chestnut, the signature of Kim Choo Kueh Chang, a Katong institution since 1945.
Nyonya chang is the Peranakan version of the Chinese zongzi rice dumpling, and Singapore's iconic version is tied to Kim Choo Kueh Chang, a Katong and Joo Chiat institution founded in 1945 and Visit Singapore's flagship Peranakan food destination. The dumpling is instantly recognisable by a patch of vivid blue rice, stained with the butterfly-pea flower (bunga telang). The filling is minced pork with five-spice, candied winter melon and chestnut — the candied winter melon is the specifically Nyonya marker that distinguishes it from a plain Chinese zongzi.
Soft, faintly sticky glutinous rice with a striking blue patch, the filling sweet-savory with the candied winter melon giving a distinctive sweet burst, the pork rich. Eaten warm from the leaf, it is the festive taste of a Singapore Peranakan Dragon Boat Festival.
Half the glutinous rice is stained blue with butterfly-pea flower water, then mixed with the unstained rice so each dumpling has a mottled blue-and-white appearance. The filling of minced pork, five-spice, candied winter melon and chestnut is pre-cooked. The dumplings are wrapped in bamboo leaves, tied, and boiled for hours until the rice is tender and the flavours meld. The blue-pea staining and the candied winter melon are the two Nyonya signatures.
Variations
A sweeter version adds more candied melon. Some include a salted egg yolk.
On the Palate
Where Nyonya Chang sits in the Singaporean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
6 steps · 2 hours
- 115 min
Soak 500g glutinous rice 4 hours; drain.
- 210 min
Steep half the rice in butterfly-pea flower water (10 blooms steeped in 100ml hot water) 30 minutes; drain and mix back with the white rice.
- 320 min
For the filling: fry 300g minced pork with 2 chopped shallots, 1 tsp five-spice, 100g diced candied winter melon, 12 chestnuts, 2 tbsp soy and 1 tbsp sugar until cooked.
Watch outCook the filling through before wrapping — these boil sealed for hours, so the pork must be fully done going in; the long boil only heats and melds.
- 48 min
Soak bamboo leaves in hot water to soften.
- 530 min
Fold two leaves into a cone; add a layer of rice, a spoon of filling, top with more rice; fold into a pyramid and tie tightly.
- 625 min
Boil the dumplings 2.5 hours until the rice is tender; drain, rest 10 minutes, and serve warm.
Watch outBoil a slow two and a half hours until the rice is tender all through — glutinous rice needs the long soak in heat to turn from chalky to soft and cohesive.
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