Tang Yuan, Traditional Chinese Sweet Rice Balls

Geographical differences

This type of glutinous rice flour dumpling is eaten in both northern and southern China. Sweet fillings such as sugar, sesame, osmanthus flowers, sweet bean paste, and sweetened tangerine peel are used. In the South, it is common to have tang yuan plain in a savory soup made with Chinese (daikon) radish and homemade fish cake.

Cultural significance

For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, tangyuan is usually eaten together with family. The round shape of the balls and the bowls where they are served, come to symbolize the family togetherness.

Ingredients

While tangyuan was originally a food eaten during festivals, it has become a dessert consumed year-round rather than simply a festival food. For instance, tangyuan is traditionally in white color. Yet, in order to cater to consumers’ needs and changing tastes, dessert specialty shops create new flavors or colors of tangyuan by substituting the traditional filling with chocolate, mashed potato and pumpkin paste. Thus, tangyuan has already evolved into a dessert that is consumed by Chinese from time to time throughout the year and is no longer limited to festivals. In both filled and unfilled tangyuan, the main ingredient is glutinous rice flour. For filled tangyuan, the filling can be either sweet or savoury. Northern variations mix sesame, peanuts, sweet bean paste and place them into bamboo baskets with rice flour, sprinkle water continuously on the rice flour to form the fillings and form round balls. Southern variations are typically larger, and are made by wrapping the filling into sticky rice flour wrapping and scrunching them into balls.

Sweet fillings can be:

• Chocolate paste (softened butter mixed with cocoa powder and stirred until blended)
• A piece of cut sugarcane rock candy
• Fruit preserves
• Sesame paste (ground black sesame seeds mixed with sugar and lard) - the most common filling
• Red bean paste (Azuki bean paste)
• Chopped peanuts (or peanut butter) and sugar

Tang Yuan (Sweet Rice Balls with Black Sesame Filling)

Prep time:1 hour

Cook time: 40 mins

Total time: 1 hour 40 mins

An important and auspicious recipe to make during the Lantern Festival is Tang Yuan (汤圆), or Yuan Xiao (元宵). It's a food that symbolizes harmony and reunion.

Serves: make 12 to 18 tang yuan

Ingredients

• 2 oz. roasted black sesame seeds
• 3 oz. caster sugar (about 1/3 cup)
• 6 tablespoons softened butter (not melted!)
• 1 cup + more for dusting sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour
• 1/2 cup warm water

Instructions

• In a food processor or blender, finely grind the sesame seeds. Add the caster sugar and use a spatula to mix together in the food processor a bit. Then add the butter and pulse for 10 seconds at a time until the mixture is well combined. Scoop everything out into a bowl and put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. The purpose of this cooling process is to harden the mixture slightly for easy handling later.
• While the filling is cooling, make the dough. Put the sweet rice flour into a mixing bowl. Slowly add in the warm water, while stirring to form a dough. The dough can’t be too wet, or it will not hold its shape. Cover with a damp towel.
• Now boil some water in a small pot, take out a small piece of the dough, about 1” in diameter. Add it to the boiling water and cook the piece of dough until it floats. Scoop it out and add it to the rest of the dough. Mix the two parts together until the dough is soft and smooth. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (about 18 grams each, if you want to be really exacting), and roll them into balls. Keep the dough and dough balls covered with a damp paper towel while assembling.
• Take out the filling after it’s cooled for 30 minutes. It should be slightly hard, but still workable. Roll the filling into small marble-sized balls, about 4 to 5 grams each. Then take each dough ball and flatten into a circle about 2 inches in diameter. Add the filling to the center, and close the dough over the filling. Roll the ball around in your hands until it's smooth and round. Repeat until all the sesame balls are made. Cover the remaining filling and return to the refrigerator for later!
• While you are assembling, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the sesame balls and stir immediately to prevent them from sticking. Adding the sesame balls will cool down the water temperature significantly, so once the water comes back up to a boil, add a 1/2 cup of water to the pot. Repeat this step two more times. This cooking process will allow enough time for the sugar and butter to melt nicely into a smooth filling. Serve the sesame balls in a bit of the hot cooking water!