Tangyuan
Glutinous rice balls with a molten black sesame centre, floated in ginger syrup. Eaten at the lantern festival and at the winter solstice.
Photograph credit: Pumpkin tangyuan (汤圆) with red bean baste and black sesame fillings by cherrylet · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Tangyuan, Step by Step
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Grind the toasted sesame seeds to a coarse powder, then beat in the sugar, softened butter and salt to a thick paste.
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Roll the filling into 20 small balls and freeze them 30 minutes, until firm.
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Put the glutinous rice flour in a bowl, pour the boiling water over a third of it and mix quickly with chopsticks.
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Add the cold water gradually and knead to a smooth dough with the texture of soft putty. Cover.
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Divide the dough into 20 pieces and flatten each into a disc thicker at the centre.
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Wrap a frozen filling ball in each and roll smooth between your palms, checking for cracks.
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Simmer the syrup ingredients together 10 minutes and keep it hot.
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Bring a large pan of water to the boil and drop the tangyuan in, stirring gently so they do not stick.
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Boil 4 minutes from the moment they float to the surface.
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Lift them into bowls with a slotted spoon and ladle the hot ginger syrup over.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Tips for Making Tangyuan
- Freeze the filling balls or they cannot be wrapped.
- Boiling water into part of the flour is what makes the dough pliable.
- Roll them smooth. Cracks burst in the pan.
Swaps and Variations
- If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
Serving Suggestions
- Ginger syrup
- Green tea
- A cold night
Keeping and Reheating
Freeze uncooked on a tray for 2 months and boil from frozen, adding 2 minutes.
Questions About Tangyuan
How long does Tangyuan take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 15 minutes of cooking, plus 30 minutes of freezing, so allow 1 hour 25 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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