I wrote this to share how to microwave frozen bak zhang because the first time I did this, the bak zhang became so "crispy" outside and so "hard" inside, totally unpalatable.
Earlier of this year, I changed job and moved to another state. No more home cooked dinner and breakfast for me on working days. For the dumpling festival / dragon boat festival (端午节) , my mom made some bak zhang and gave me a few of it so that if I didn't manage to get dinner (due to MCO, many restaurants closed earlier), I could at least eat the bak zhang, instead of the usual instant noodle.
Anyway, one day I worked late and it's almost 10pm, so I decided not to try my luck on going to the restaurant directly and getting turned down by them. I decided to microwave the bak zhang. Initially, I set timer to 3 minutes, however, after that, I poked the bak zhang and felt that it's still kind of hard. So I add another 3 minutes, still hard. Finally, I added another 2 minutes, silly me, after I peeled off the bamboo leaf, I could see that the surface of the bak zhang became so dry. I tried to eat it, but after eating the outermost thin layer which was crispy, the others was so hard, even my good teeth didn't manage to chew a chunk of it. Finally, I had Maggi mee as my dinner that night.
I shared my failure story with my family members, and my brother suggested that I put a glass of water when I microwave the bak zhang. Well, at home, mom would normally steam it, maybe it's the vapour that keep the bak zhang soft. So, my second attempt, a glass of water plus a frozen bak zhang inside the moicrowave oven. Initially, I still set 3 minutes, but when I touched the bak zhang after 3 minutes, I felt it's not hot enough, so I added another 2 minutes (not dare to put longer), when I touched it, it's warm and when I poked it with fork, it's not hard.
Luckily, this second attempt works. I was so happy when I peeled off the bamboo leaf and saw the normal bak zhang. The taste and texture was normal too, I think due to the presence of moisture, it hydrated the bak zhang and I got to have bak zhang as dinner.
Enjoy the bak zhang everyone!
