'Bark Zhang' for Choya

I know about the 'Dragon Boat Festival' (端午節) celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month, academically, and the works of poet Qu Yuan who was a court advisor at the state of Chu during the Warring States (屈原，战国时期楚国诗人) because I had to study them, but the family doesn't observe this festival. A mixed-culture family meant that the grandparents could pick and choose what 'festivals' they celebrated, opting for those that meant most to them.   

I've always simply termed it as 'Dumpling Festival'. Haha. This year, it falls on 25 June. It's traditional to eat glutinous rice dumplings during this festival, in honor of what the ancients did for Qu Yuan's spirit that lived in the river where he drowned. I've never had a habit of eating glutinous rice dumplings (粽子, known in Singapore in its Hokkien name of 'bak zhang') because nobody in my family eats it! The man's family lagi doesn't observe this festival either or eat bak zhang.  

Although one could get glutinous rice dumplings all year round in Singapore, the humans don't bother with bak zhang. This month, we didn't bother with it too. So we were absolutely tickled when the dear friends sent over two pieces of 'bark zhang' for Choya. Aiyoh these friends ah! 

The bark zhang were sooooo adorable! They came wrapped in the traditional bamboo leaves too! It's amazing what these canine-diet-friendly bakeries can do, and the effort to create it. The bark zhang were from Thunder Treatos. The bark zhang comes in choices of turkey, lamb, beef, pork or chicken. Wow! Opted for beef for Choya. Stored them in the freezer. They wouldn't be snacks for her. The dumplings would form her main meals on two separate days. 

The instructions for heating up the dumplings for Choya are the same as if we were heating up for humans too. I almost wanted to check with Thunder Treatos if microwaving them would do. But never mind. I dutifully boiled water in a pot, heated up one frozen bark zhang for 15 minutes, then mashed it up because this girl doesn't bother to eat things whole, preferring her food to appear in smaller pieces. 

The beef bark zhang was filled with carrots and a quail egg. Weighing in at 95-100 grams each, one bark zhang was a perfect meal portion for Choya. However, she's a small eater. She literally eats a max of 180 grams a day (which is the recommended intake for a dog her weight). She eats about 80 grams in a meal. One dumpling was still rather big for her though, so the night we fed her one, we walked her further in order to whet her appetite. Hahaha. She ate all the meat and the egg, and left most of the carrots behind. The carrots were shredded and not minced, so she could easily pick them out. This one really doesn’t like fruits and vegetables. If she is to eat them, they would to have be minced or diced and sneaked into the meats.