Tang Yuan
Tang yuan, a traditional Chinese dessert made from glutinous rice flour shaped into round balls and served in a sweet, warm soup, is especially cherished during the Winter Solstice festival as a symbol of family togetherness and unity. Follow this easy recipe with a step-by-step video and make your own tangyuan at home.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 500 ml water
- 1 piece ginger (2-inch/5-cm, peeled and pounded with a cleaver )
- 2-3 pandan leaves/screwpine leaves (tie into a knot)
- 1/3 cup sugar (or more to taste)
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour (sticky rice flour)
- 200 ml water (add 1 tablespoon of water if dough is too dry)
- red and yellow/orange food coloring
Instructions
- 1
Ginger Syrup: Boil the water in a pot. Add the ginger and pandan leaves, and bring to a boil over medium heat until the aromas of ginger and pandan become fragrant. Add the sugar and let it simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust the sugar to taste, if desired. Discard the ginger and pandan leaves, then set the syrup aside.
- 2
Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Dumplings): In a mixing bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with water and knead with your hands to form a dough. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to your hands.
- 3
Divide the dough into three portions, making the plain dough the largest. Add 2-3 drops of food coloring to the other portions to create the pink and yellow/orange dough.
- 4
Pinch the dough into small portions and set them aside on a flat surface dusted with glutinous rice flour or lined with parchment paper. If the dough dries up, wet your hands with a bit of water.
- 5
Roll them between your palms to form round balls.
- 6
Boil another pot of water and drop the tang yuan into the boiling water. Once they float to the surface, transfer them into the syrup. Serve immediately.