Tang Yuan 🍚 汤圆 Chinese Glutinous Rice Balls

March 27, 2023 at 2:33 pm, No comments

On Spring Equinox, farmers in China have a tradition of taking the time off and eating glutinous rice balls. Additional rice balls are stuck on lengthy bamboo skewers and positioned around their fields to prevent birds from eating their crops. This exercise is known as “stick the hen’s beak.”

Depending on the region of China, Tang Yuan can be served in lots of exceptional ways. The most effective manner is to feature a touch of cooking liquid in the bowl. This facilitates holding the Tang Yuan heat for longer hence the filling stays runny.

In other regions of China, another famous way to serve Tang Yuan is to add thick syrup manufactured from darkish brown sugar and then sprinkled it with toasted soybean powder. Or Ginger syrup is a very popular serving of liquid.

So, how to make this sweet, nutty, runny filling sealed with a slippery, chewy wrapper, Tang Yuan (Chinese glutinous rice balls)?

Ingredients you will need are:

For the filling
    ▢ 80 g black sesame seeds
    ▢ 35 g sugar - or to taste
    ▢ 35 g softened butter - or coconut oil, lard

For the dough
    ▢ 120 g glutinous rice flour
    ▢ 45 g boiling water
    ▢ 60 g room temperature water - or beetroot juice

Instructions

Prepare the filling

Toast black sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over low heat until they plump up and become very easy to break when crushed with your fingers.
Once completely cool, put the toasted black sesame seeds in a food processor. Grind them with sugar until they turn into a soft, shiny paste.
Add butter (or coconut oil/lard). Mix to combine then keep refrigerated until the mixture is firm enough to handle.
Divide the paste into 20 portions. Shape each piece into a ball. Put them back in the fridge while preparing the dough.

Make the dough

In a mixing bowl, pour boiling water into glutinous rice flour while stirring with a spatula. Then add room temperature water (or beetroot juice for a pink dough) little by little.
Knead with your hand until a smooth, soft dough forms. Adjust its consistency by adding more water or flour. If you are not using the dough straight away, wrap it with cling film to avoid drying out.
Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces then roll each into a ball.

Assemble Tang Yuan (please refer to the video below)

Flatten a piece of dough into a round wrapper with your fingers.
Place a ball of filling in the middle. Gently push the wrapper upwards to wrap the filling tightly. Seal at the top completely.

Cook Tang Yuan

Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Gently slide in some Tang Yuan. If necessary, cook in batches as the balls expand while cooking so do not crowd the pot.
Push the balls around with the back of a spoon to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook over medium-high heat. Once all the balls start to float on the surface, boil for a further minute.
Dish out (along with some cooking liquid) and serve warm. You may also make some ginger syrup separately as the serving liquid.

Store Tang Yuan

Freeze Tang Yuan right after they are assembled. Lay them in a single layer on a tray lined with parchment paper to freeze. Once totally frozen, put them in an air-tight bag and store them in the freezer.
To cook frozen Tang Yuan, follow the same cooking procedure (do not defrost).

Watch this video if you're feeling lost!

DID YOU MAKE IT?!

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