Let's start with the bamboo leaves.
Now this recipe makes a dozen Zongzi, which means we will need at least 24 leaves that's 2 leaves for each Zongzi that we're going to be wrapping.
So I highly recommend that you wash and prepare about 30-35 because as you go through the washing process you'll notice that some will break or some may not be the ones that you thought they were, not the right size, so definitely wash and prepare more.
You can start by soaking your bamboo leaves in hot water for about 30 minutes.
Now they will float in your sink so you might need to put something heavy like a pot or a plate on top so that way they stay submerged in the water.
After 30 minutes they should have absorbed water and become super soft, so then what you'll need to do is take a clean dry sponge, wipe and clean off both sides of the bamboo, and that's just to wash off any dirt.
Then, bring a pot of water to a boil, and like to add a little bit of vinegar and a couple pinches of salt to help with the disinfecting, then put your bamboo leaves in stem first.
Let that gently boil and soften up, and once that's soft you can go ahead and fold over or submerge the entire leaf.
Let that boil for 20 minutes and add more water if needed.
Once that's done cooking go ahead and rinse with cold water, and if you need to use some scissors to trim off the ends.
