On the coastal fertile land surrounded by the South China Sea in Nan’ao Sub-district, Dapeng New District, Shenzhen, a delicacy that perfectly combines fisherman’s seafood and traditional zongzi aroma has become a taste symbol engraved with local memories — Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi. As a unique Dragon Boat Festival specialty in Shenzhen, it breaks the inherent pattern of sweet and salty zongzi, taking fresh sea urchin as the core, paired with glutinous rice, fresh meat and other ingredients, interweaving the freshness of the sea with the mellow aroma of grains. It not only inherits the handcrafted essence of Lingnan zongzi but also highlights the dietary wisdom of Nan’ao fishermen. For foreign travelers, tasting Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi is not only a taste adventure but also an excellent journey to deeply understand coastal fisherman culture and experience Shenzhen’s Dragon Boat Festival customs, comprehending the marine gifts hidden in zongzi through a bite of freshness.
The origin of Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi is deeply rooted in Nan’ao’s fisherman culture and geographical environment. Located at the southern tip of Dapeng Peninsula, Nan’ao is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with a long coastline and clear sea water, abundant in high-quality sea urchin varieties such as purple sea urchins and sea hedgehogs. The advantageous marine resources provide an excellent ingredient foundation for sea urchin zongzi. Tracing back to history, the prototype of Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi can be traced to the Ming and Qing dynasties. At that time, Nan’ao fishermen made a living by fishing and needed to carry storable and filling food when going out to sea, so zongzi became the first choice. Fishermen used local materials, mixing fresh sea urchins caught ashore with glutinous rice and pork at home, which not only made up for the lack of freshness of traditional zongzi but also supplemented physical strength through sea urchins. Over time, a unique sea urchin zongzi making technique was formed. After hundreds of years of inheritance, this fisherman’s delicacy has evolved from fishermen’s sea rations to a must-have dish at local Dragon Boat Festival banquets, and has become a bright business card of Shenzhen’s coastal food with its unique flavor.
The ultimate Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi lies in the strict selection of ingredients, and every bite of fresh taste comes from the adherence to quality. The choice of sea urchin is particularly crucial. Traditional Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi uses fresh purple sea urchins produced from April to June and September to November every year. Sea urchins in this season have plump meat, golden color and rich freshness, known as “sea gold” by locals. Harvesting sea urchins requires experienced fishermen to dive into the seabed, catch them by hand and process them immediately. Cut open the shell to take out the sea urchin roe, remove impurities and refrigerate quickly to keep freshness, avoiding the loss of freshness. Glutinous rice uses local round glutinous rice, which has moderate stickiness and plump grains. After soaking in clean water for 6 to 8 hours, take it out and drain, add a small amount of peanut oil and light soy sauce, mix well and marinate to make the glutinous rice taste in advance and enhance the softness of the taste. In addition, fresh pork belly, salted egg yolk, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimps and other auxiliary materials are needed. Pork belly needs to be marinated with soy sauce, oyster sauce and rock sugar for more than 4 hours. The fat and lean meat seeps into the glutinous rice after steaming, forming a wonderful balance with the freshness of sea urchin.
Handmade craftsmanship is the core of maintaining the unique flavor of Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi, and each step embodies the experience and ingenuity of fisherman craftsmen. Before making zongzi, soak zongzi leaves (mostly fresh indocalamus leaves or reed leaves) in clean water for 2 hours, brush them clean and blanch in boiling water for 10 minutes to remove the bitter taste and enhance the aroma of zongzi leaves. When making zongzi, cross two zongzi leaves to form a funnel shape, first put a layer of marinated glutinous rice, then spread pork belly, salted egg yolk, shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps in turn, finally put a spoonful of plump sea urchin roe, cover with a layer of glutinous rice and press firmly, wrap the zongzi leaves tightly and tie them firmly with straw rope. The binding force must be just right — too loose will cause the zongzi to lose shape during steaming, while too tight will make the glutinous rice taste hard. The steaming process is also exquisite. Put the wrapped sea urchin zongzi into a large pot, add enough water to completely submerge the zongzi, boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat for 2.5 to 3 hours, allowing the freshness of sea urchin, the fragrance of zongzi leaves and the aroma of glutinous rice and auxiliary materials to fully blend until the zongzi is soft and fragrant. Compared with machine-made zongzi, traditional handmade zongzi can better retain the original flavor of ingredients, with rich layers of freshness and mellow aroma in every bite.
The unique flavor of Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi lies in the exquisite balance between seafood, grains and meat, breaking the flavor boundary of traditional zongzi. The moment you peel off the zongzi leaves, the strong zongzi aroma and the freshness of sea urchin rush to your face. The golden glutinous rice is soaked in the freshness of sea urchin roe and the oil of pork belly, soft and slightly chewy; the freshness of sea urchin roe is not fishy or greasy, interweaving with the sandy aroma of salted egg yolk, the mellow aroma of shiitake mushrooms and the salty freshness of dried shrimps, with different flavor layers in every bite. Different from the sweetness of northern sweet zongzi and the richness of traditional salty zongzi, Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi takes “freshness” as the core, with a refreshing yet full taste, both the agility of the sea and the thickness of grains, suitable for most people’s taste preferences. Today, Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi is also innovating in inheritance. Some restaurants have launched special varieties such as cheese sea urchin zongzi and scallop sea urchin zongzi, integrating modern dietary elements on the basis of retaining traditional flavors to meet the needs of different diners.
Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi has long surpassed food itself, deeply integrated into Nan’ao’s folk culture and life scenes, becoming an important carrier to maintain fisherman emotions and inherit local culture. During the Dragon Boat Festival, every household in Nan’ao makes sea urchin zongzi by hand. Families sit around, dividing labor and cooperating. From processing ingredients to making and steaming zongzi, the whole process is full of warm homely atmosphere. Sea urchin zongzi is not only a delicacy for home consumption but also a good gift for relatives and friends, symbolizing “reunion and surplus every year”, carrying fishermen’s good wishes for life. In addition, Nan’ao Sub-district holds the Dragon Boat Festival Sea Urchin Food Culture Festival every year, with sea urchin zongzi as the core, carrying out zongzi making competitions, food tastings, fisherman folk performances and other activities, attracting a large number of tourists to participate, making this fisherman’s delicacy and local culture widely spread.
To taste the most authentic Nan’ao Sea Urchin Zongzi, time-honored shops and fisherman villages in Nan’ao Old Street are the best choices. “Nan’ao Old Fisherman Zongzi Shop” located in Shuitousha Community, Nan’ao Sub-district, has been in operation for decades, adhering to traditional handmade techniques and using fresh sea urchins of the day, making zongzi with fresh and mellow flavor, which is the first choice of locals and tourists. Family-style restaurants around Nan’ao Fishing Port are mostly run by fishermen who have lived here for generations, inheriting family recipes for making zongzi. The dishes are full of fisherman’s homely flavor. Tourists can also witness the whole process of handmade zongzi and feel the fisherman’s ingenuity. In addition, during the Dragon Boat Festival Food Culture Festival, various sea urchin zongzi stalls are set up on the streets of Nan’ao, where you can taste classic sea urchin zongzi and explore innovative flavors, while experiencing fisherman folk activities and immersively feeling the charm of Nan’ao’s coastal culture. For foreign travelers, you may wish to walk into Nan’ao during the Dragon Boat Festival, peel off a steaming sea urchin zongzi, and touch the thousand-year inheritance and warmth of Nan’ao fishermen in the fresh zongzi aroma.
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