Daojiao Wrapped Zongzi

Daojiao wrapped zongzi, popularly called Daojiao zong, takes late-crop glutinous rice as its base with salted egg yolk, pork belly, mung bean and lotus seed, seasoned with garlic, sand ginger and five-spice, wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed for hours until rich, soft and deeply savoury.

Daojiao zongzi began in the 1930s, when its founder Ye Chao, nicknamed "Red-Face Chao," ran the Chaoji zongzi stall on Xinglong Street in Daojiao and boldly reworked the fillings and seasoning of the traditional zongzi into a style of his own; by the 1930s and 40s it was renowned across Guangdong, and returning Hong Kong and Macau residents carried it home as a gift, spreading its fame.

Eaten hot after peeling the leaf, the soft rice fuses with salted yolk, pork belly and mung bean; it serves as breakfast, a teatime snack or a festival food, often paired with a bowl of plain congee.

The layered aroma of garlic, sand ginger and five-spice, the rich savoury filling of pork belly and salted yolk, and the soft glutinous body are what set Daojiao zong apart from wrapped zongzi elsewhere.