Costlier ingredients have caused consumers to tighten their purse strings by making lesser traditional rice dumplings - popularly known as chang or zongzi - at home for the upcoming Duan Wu Festival. - THOMAS YONG/The Star
JOHOR BARU: Costlier ingredients have caused consumers to tighten their purse strings by making fewer traditional rice dumplings – popularly known as chang or zongzi – at home for the upcoming Duan Wu Festival.
Angelina Ngoi, a mother of two, said she will cut the quantity of homemade rice dumplings by half this year.
“In previous years, I usually made 4kg of glutinous rice, which required a similar amount of meat and other ingredients.
“Apart from our own consumption, I’d give the dumplings to friends and relatives to share the festive joy and spread the meaning behind the festival so that it is not lost among the younger generation.
“With things being so expensive these days, this year I will only make 2kg of glutinous rice to share with my family because it’s still an important occasion in Chinese culture,” said the 55 year old in an interview.
Retiree Lai Teck Meng, 65, said his wife will also be making a small batch of rice dumplings this year because of the costly price of meat, which is more than RM40 per kg, and their desire to eat more healthily.
“My wife plans to make alkaline rice dumplings – a smaller and meatless variety filled with red bean paste. Our children also prefer these.
“Owing to our age, my wife and I also can’t consume too many rice dumplings because it affects our digestion,” he said.
A pasar malam trader, who only wanted to be known as Lim, however, said he is undeterred by the rising cost of ingredients.
“We have calculated the costs involved in making a homemade dumpling, around RM10, which is about the same as those sold outside, so we might as well make them at home.
“This way, we can control the quality and make them according to our taste,” he said, adding that his wife is targeting to make about 1,000 pieces of rice dumplings this season.
Lim, 68, added that they feel happy seeing their loved ones enjoy the homemade rice dumplings and hopes the tradition will be passed down to the next generation.
In Malaysia, one of the key highlights of Duan Wu Festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is savouring festive dumplings – known as chang in Hokkien – with family and friends. It falls on June 22 this year.
Sundry shop owner Tang Kim Siu noticed a drop in demand for ingredients to make rice dumplings.
“I think the high price of pork, a key ingredient, is a factor, although some of my regulars still insist on making them for their children to enjoy,” she said, adding that she is hoping for more customers this weekend before the festival.
Tang said her customers spend about RM200 on average to purchase the essential items such as bamboo leaves, glutinous rice, dried shrimp, chestnut, mushroom and beans.
Johor Jaya wet market trader Jamil A. Aziz said consumers will have to fork out more if they wish to add salted eggs that now cost RM1.80 to RM2 each.
The sundry shop owner said that business has dropped by about 20% for this year’s festival compared to last year.
Market checks showed that the price of a 200g pack of 12cm bamboo leaves is RM14 while the 11cm version is RM12.
Chestnuts cost RM65 per kg while dried shrimp is RM10 to RM12 per 100g depending on the grade.
