a guide to gluten-free joong

sticky rice bundles wrapped in bamboo leaves

This past weekend, we made traditional Cantonese joong for 🐉 Dragon Boat Festival—just the second time we’ve ever done it.

Growing up, Dragon Boat Festival meant heading to Toronto’s Centre Island with my parents to watch the exhilarating dragon boat races my sisters competed in during high school. It was always a bustling day of food and sunshine, marking the start of summer break and often landing right around my birthday.

I never learned how to wrap joong as a kid, but doing it now brings back memories of my poh (maternal grandma). I think about how proud she might be that I’m carrying this tradition forward. Our time together was brief, but I often wish she and my gong (maternal grandpa) could taste my food and see who I’ve become—especially since I have such distinct food memories tied to them.

She always served her joong with soy sauce and white sugar on the side—a nostalgic, salty-sweet combo I still enjoy today.

✨

What are joong? And why are they usually not gluten-free?

Joong are convenient rice bundles that are nutritionally dense and satisfying. Made with sticky (glutinous) rice and savoury or sweet fillings, they’re wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed until tender.

They’re traditionally eaten during Dragon Boat Festival (the first five days of the fifth lunar moon) to honour a beloved minister who drowned himself in protest against government corruption. Legend says dragon boat races and the ritual of throwing joong into the river began as villagers searched for his body and tried to feed his spirit. (The Joy of Chinese Cooking by Doreen Yen Hung Feng)

Despite the name, glutinous rice doesn’t actually contain gluten. What does make joong tricky for gluten-free eaters are the ingredients used for fillings—especially soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, which often contain wheat. With just a few smart swaps, this dish becomes a rewarding weekend project that freezes well and can be made year-round.

✨

Here’s what’s packed into our joong this year:

• Red-braised pork belly – recipe adapted from Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop, with gluten-free tamari and rice wine

• Oyster mushrooms – diced and sautéed

• Sweet potatoes – pierced with a fork and roasted whole at 400°F for 30 mins, then cut into bite-sized pieces

• Chestnuts – store-bought, ready-to-eat

• Goji berries

• Salted egg yolks – I referenced Kristina Cho’s video for these

Other savoury ingredients you could try:

• Chinese sausage or lap cheong – we often find these gluten-free ones at T&T

• Dried shrimp

• Peanuts

• Mung beans

• Lotus seeds

• Taro

Big shoutout to The Woks of Life whose recipe we referenced, and Made with Lau for this helpful assembly video.

Cooking & Storage

Once assembled, steam joong in a large pot set with a wire rack and about 2 inches of water for 1 hour on medium-low heat. Many recipes will tell you to steam them for multiple hours, but we don’t find that to be necessary. Be sure to check the water level regularly and refill as needed.

Enjoy warm (with tamari and white sugar to dip!), or let them cool completely before storing. They’ll keep in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for 2-3 months.

To reheat, steam for about 10 minutes from the fridge or 20 minutes from frozen, until heated through.

✨

ICYMI, my editor surprised me with the first physical copy of My Best Friend Is Gluten-Free last week, and I’m so excited to give you a sneak peek:

mybfisgf

A post shared by @mybfisgf

And there we have it! We’re in the home stretch before baby now, and if you have any tips or insights for this transitional time, I’d love to hear from you. I’ll check in again on the other side.

✌🏼 Peace, love, and good food,

Jannell