Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Plain & Matcha Tang Yuan with Peanut Filling) 双色抹茶花生汤圆

Make Peanut Filling:

Have ready all ingredients needed to make the filling.

Toast the raw peanuts in a dry frying pan over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes till peanuts are aromatic and turns golden brown in colour. Then remove and let cool.

Place cooled peanuts into a grinder and grind till the peanuts turn into a paste texture. Then add in sugar, cooking oil and a pinch of salt. Mix till well combined. Keep refrigerated till the filling is firm enough to handle.

Make Sweet Ginger Syrup:

Have ready all ingredients to make sweet ginger syrup.

First skinned old ginger and smashed into thick pieces to get the ginger juices released.

Add water into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil.

Add in rock sugar, smashed ginger and pandan knot. Bring to a boil again. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove ginger and pandan knots from the sweet ginger syrup. Keep warm.

Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (White dough):

Have ready glutinous rice flour and water to make the glutinous rice dough.

In a medium size mixing bowl, add in 80g of the glutinous rice flour. Pour in 60ml of the water and mix to form a dough.

Pinch about 15g dough an cook it in boiling water till float. Combine cooked dough with raw dough. Mix till well blended.Add in the balance of 20g glutinous rice flour and 20ml water. Continue mixing till a smooth and non sticky dough is formed.

On a floured surface, roll the dough into a long cylinder. Cut and divide into 10 small pieces. Roll the small dough into balls and flatten each ball to form a round wrapper. Place peanut filling in the middle and pinch the dough together to seal completely. Then gently roll into round balls again. Repeat for the rest of the dough pieces. Cover the glutinous rice balls before cooking.

Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Matcha dough):

To make the matcha glutinous rice balls, have ready glutinous rice flour, icing sugar, matcha powder and water.

Mix well glutinous rice flour, icing sugar and matcha powder in a mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and stir with a spatula and when it is not too hot, knead with your hand till you get a non-stick dough that is smooth and stretchy. (soft and pliable).

On a floured surface, roll into a log and cut into 10 smaller doughs. Roll each into a ball and flattened into a round wrapper. Fill in with peanut filling in the centre, pinch to secure completely and gently roll into round balls again. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough balls. And we are ready to cook the glutinous rice balls.

Cook Glutinous Rice Balls:

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently drop in the glutinous rice balls. Push them around with the back of a cooking spoon to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

The glutinous rice balls are done when the skins turn almost translucent and start to float on the surface. At this moment, add in some room temperature water. Continue to cook till the glutinous rice balls rise to the surface again. This is to ensure the glutinous rice balls are cooked thoroughly. And we are done. Remove from stove.

Immerse the cooked glutinous rice balls into room temperature water till they are fully cooled. Then dish out into bowls and served with warm sweet ginger syrup.

Continue to cook the same for the matcha glutinous rice balls.

Dish out into bowls and serve warm with the warm and sweet ginger syrup. It is truly comforting and delectable. So Enjoy!

Store Glutinous Rice Balls:

Glutinous rice balls can be stored by freezing them right after they are made. First line the bottom of an airtight container with cling wrap. Then carefully place the rice balls onto the container (not too close to one another). Close the lid and freeze until needed. When cooking frozen glutinous rice balls, do not defrost the rice balls. Follow the same cooking method.