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1
Place the dried bamboo or reed leaves in a large pot of boiling water and blanch until fully pliable and darkened. Remove, rinse under cold water and wipe each leaf dry. The leaf must bend without cracking — a leaf that resists will split during folding and again in the pot.
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2
For the Cantonese savoury version, combine the pork pieces with five spice, soy sauce and sugar. Leave to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. The meat should carry a deep, even colour to the surface before use.
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3
Drain the soaked glutinous rice. It must have absorbed water evenly — every grain should be uniformly white and swollen, with no hard chalky core at the centre when pressed between the fingers. Rice that has not soaked for a full 8 hours will cook unevenly in the parcel.
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4
Take two overlapping leaves and fold them into a cone. Add a layer of soaked rice, then place the chosen filling in the centre — for the savoury version, a piece of marinated pork, half a salted egg yolk, a mushroom cap and a measure of dried shrimp; for the sweet version, two or three jujubes or a spoonful of red bean paste. Cover the filling with a second layer of rice, pressing gently so no air pockets remain. Do not overfill: the rice must have room to swell and compact during boiling, or the parcel will burst. This is where the dish lives or dies — insufficient rice coverage or an overfilled cavity means the zong will open in the water and be lost.
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5
Fold the overhanging leaves down and across the parcel to seal it completely, forming a pyramid shape (northern style) or a compact log (southern style). Bind firmly with twine, wrapping several times and knotting tightly. A correctly tied zong will not give when gently squeezed; any looseness signals it will unravel in boiling water.
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6
Place the tied zong zi in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a full boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook for 2–4 hours, checking periodically that the parcels remain submerged; add boiling water as needed. The zong is done when the parcel feels firm and set when pressed — not soft or yielding — and the bamboo leaf aroma is deep and pervasive throughout the kitchen.
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7
Lift the zong zi from the water and allow to rest for 10 minutes before untying. The rice should be glossy, cohesive and fully translucent throughout when the parcel is opened — any remaining white opacity in the grains indicates undercooking.