Adzuki beans, which are used to make the stuffing for tangyuan.
A very popular dessert in China, tangyuan consists of filled or unfilled balls made from glutinous rice flour. These chewy dumplings are a very popular snack and are consumed in large quantities during festivals. They are traditionally served during the Dong Zhi and Lantern Festival, which marks the arrival of winter. Also served during Chinese New Year, tangyuan can be found with a wide variety of exotic fillings. Mass-produced versions of this dessert can also be found in the frozen food sections of supermarkets in some parts of Asia.
Mandarin oranges can be used as exotic fillings in tangyuan.
The word itself translates to round balls in soup and was previously known as yuanxiao. According to legend, this name was changed to tangyuan because the word sounded more or less like “remove yuan”. The ruler in the early 1910s was called Yuan Shikai, so the change was made to avoid offense. This dessert is still called by its original name in some parts of northern China.
This traditional food has a lot of meaning for many Chinese. For many it represents happiness and symbolizes family unity. The rounded shape of the dumplings and the bowls in which they are served are believed to have contributed to their importance. Usually eaten with family members, this once festive meal is a daily dessert for many Chinese, both local and foreign.
Made from a doughy dough of glutinous rice flour, this dessert is also served as an offering to the gods. Although it is normally consumed with a sugary syrup, it can also be found in soup and eaten as part of the main dish. Stuffed rice balls can have sweet or savory fillings. The different types of sweet fillings that are found are sugar crushed peanuts, sugar cane rock candy and osmanthus flowers. The most common sweet filling is sesame paste made from black sesame seeds, sugar and lard.
Cashews, chestnuts, walnuts and almonds can be used instead of sesame. The nuts are roasted, ground and mixed with sugar and butter to make the filling. Bean pastes such as red adzuki are also popular. Some exotic fillings include rose petals, jujube paste, and sweetened tangerine peel. Tasty tangyuan is made with fillings such as pork or other types of minced meat or vegetables or a mixture of both.
It can be easily done at home in less than half an hour. The dough is made by mixing water with glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour. Cooks knead the mixture until the dough is less sticky.
Colored tangyuans are made by separating the dough into portions and adding a little food coloring to each portion. The cook kneads each piece until the coloring is evenly distributed. He or she then shapes the dough into balls of the desired size. At this point, the cook adds the fillings, pouring a little into each ball.
The cook then drops the meatballs into a container containing boiling water. In about five minutes or so, the balls will float to the top. This indicates that they are cooked. Cooked meatballs are removed, poured into cold water and drained after some time. They are ready to be served in a hot sweet syrup made with brown sugar or rock candy and ginger.