In the Hokkien dialect, the name is bak chang.
These pyramidal rice dumplings also answer to zongzi or, rarely, to Taiwanese tamale. At Hiong Kee, the ladies who make them criss-cross two bamboo leaves into a cone, which is loaded with glutinous rice and, for this variety, a generous complement of pork, chestnut, mushroom, and salted egg (S$2.70). After more rice is layered on top, the leaves are wrapped 'round to enclose the pyramid, which is tied off with string. The process takes about a minute — not as fast as at some stalls, observed the proprietor, Richard Lim, but even so it was necessary to pause the action, for a moment, to snap the photo above.
The bak chang is then boiled. Mine was from a batch prepared not long before; in the photo at bottom, it had been unwrapped and scissored open for serving. Though this is a Fujian style of dumpling, said Mr. Lim, and customarily dressed with a wet chili sauce, at Hiong Kee it's served with dry chili fried with prawn and sugar — a Singaporean modification, he added. Though compact, under light chopstick pressure the bak chang readily surrendered bite after delicious bite.
A day-old or even hours-old reheated dumpling, by comparison, can seem leaden and gummy. Since returning from Singapore I've sought fresh bak chang in New York (many Chowhounds have been making a similar quest), but, despite the city's growing population of Fujianese emigrants, without luck. I welcome any and all leads.
Hiong Kee Dumplings
Hong Lim Market and Food Centre (during food center renovation, at 10 Upper Pickering St., stall 01-09), Singapore
Closed Sunday
(From a summer 2010 visit)
