Tāng Yuán (汤圆)

Often labeled “glutinous rice balls” in english, but if you’re unfamiliar, I’d describe them as ‘sweet mochi dumplings’. The outside is satisfyingly chewy, using the same flour as mochi, and this recipe uses a sweetened black sesame filling (personal favorite) – but like, a well-balanced sweet. I’m neither experienced nor very comfortable working with dough, but the process was a lot easier than expected! And importantly, after testing out some different measurements, this finalized recipe was mom and auntie-approved. 🙂

TāngYuán are traditionally eaten as a dessert at the end of Lunar New Year celebrations, but can also made with varieties of both sweet and savory fillings. Growing up in China, my mom made them from scratch. It was a multi-day process that involved the whole family, and she sounded a little exasperated describing it to me – soaking and pounding glutinous rice using a stone mill, toasting and grinding black sesame seeds + sugar with a mortar and pestle, and carefully hand picking the lard from very specific cuts that took requests in advance to get from butchers.

For whatever reason (*insert ironic tone that is difficult to convey via internet*), we now get the pre-made frozen ones, which you can find any Chinese / most Asian grocery stores. So Mom can have them year round – they make a very satisfying and nutritious breakfast, btw – and the hardest part in making them for me was scrambling through our freezer.

But since we had family staying with us to celebrate this Lunar New Year, I wanted to try making TāngYuán myself from “scratch”… shoutout glutinous rice flour millers, packaged lard / coconut oil, and the invention of blenders. Also for a cleaner ingredient list. And for funs.

Vegan Version

Substitute lard with refined coconut oil – virgin coconut oil has a strong coconut flavor, whereas refined has a neutral flavor.

Black Sesame Powder (toasted)

Black sesame powder, which is always (or should always be) toasted, can be purchased at any Asian grocery stores or online, but you can also easily make it yourself with whole black sesame seeds (~3.5 tbsp of whole sesame seeds comes out to the 3 tbsp of black sesame powder that this recipe calls for).

• In a dry pan over medium heat, toast seeds until you can smell and taste their fragrance. Stir often to ensure even cooking and to prevent burning.
• Let cool completely (in fridge/freezer is faster). Then, pulse blend into a powder using a spice grinder, food processor, or mortar & pestle.
• Note: If using a blender or larger food processor, you may need to make a larger amount so that it actually blends. Store any excess in an airtight container in the fridge, to prevent seed oils from spoiling.

Fun fact! Black sesame powder is used in traditional Chinese medicine to improve the flow of the qi, especially through the liver & kidneys, and aid digestion (aka they get things moving). My mom often makes a drink of black sesame powder + sweetener + hot water as breakfast, and I like to add it to my dessert oatmeal or congee for added flavor and nutritional benefits. 

Caster Sugar

Caster (Superfine) Sugar can be purchased at most any grocery store. But if you don’t already have it in your pantry (I don’t), it’s basically just granulated (cane) sugar blended into a finer consistency, and can be easily prepared yourself.

1. In a spice grinder / food processor, pulse blend granulated sugar just until it is fine, powdered consistency (note that Caster Sugar is not the same as Powdered / Confectioners Sugar, as it is less finely grounded).

Shaping (how to + aesthetic tips)

Take a piece of dough, and press it into a ball slightly larger than filling balls. With one hand, use thumb to make an indent, and pinch while turning to create a pocket. Use the other hand to cradle the dough as you shape, to prevent cracking. Press filling ball into pocket, and close the top by pinching / folding in open edges.

My setup when shaping includes:

• Dough, covered with damp towel to prevent drying out
• Tray of shaped filling balls
• Cup of water to (1) rehydrate the dough if it dries out, and (2) purely for aesthetics, use a tiny bit of water to smooth out the ridges of where I closed to dough over the filling
• Clean paper towel to wipe my fingers as I go (purely for aesthetics, to keep any filling from getting on the outside of the dough)
• Tray/plate to place finished TangYuan (if freezing, lined with parchment paper or sprinkled with glutinous rice flour for easier removal)

The filling balls are easiest to work with when chilled (we place them in the freezer to harden while making the dough), so if they start melting half-way through, return to the freezer for a few minutes before continuing.

Tāng Yuán

thingslinadoes

"sweet mochi dumplings with black sesame filling"

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook TIme 3 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 3.5 tbsp black sesame seeds (or 3 tbsp toasted black sesame powder)
• 2 tbsp superfine / caster sugar (or 2.5 tbsp if you like things on the sweeter side)
• a pinch of kosher salt
• 2 tbsp lard (or sub refined coconut oil)

Instructions

 

Black Sesame Filling

• In a pan over low heat or in the microwave, heat lard until just melted. Add to a bowl, along with black sesame powder, caster sugar, and salt. Mix well to combine.
• Place mix in freezer for a few minutes. When hardened, form filling into individual balls (~1/2 tsp each). Place on a sheet, and return to freezer until ready to use. ¹

Dough

• In a large bowl, combine sweet rice flour and oil. Add hot water a little at a time, mixing as you add. As the dough starts coming together, start kneading. Knead until smooth, it should have a 'play dough'- like consistency.
• Tip: cover dough with a moist towel while you work to avoid drying out. If the dough dries too much, add a little more water and knead to incorporate.

Shaping

• Set up the filling balls, covered dough, a bowl of water to rehydrate the dough, and a plate/tray to place finished Tang Yuan
• Make a dough ball a little bigger than the filling ball. With one hand, use thumb to make an indent, and pinch while turning to create a pocket. Use the other hand to cradle the dough as you shape, to prevent cracking. Press filling ball into pocket, and close the top by folding in open edges.

Cooking

• Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in TangYuan. Let simmer and stir occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom. When they float, cook for another 30-60 sec, then spoon them into a bowl along with some of the hot water from the pot.

Storing

• Freeze on a a plate lined with parchment paper or sprinkled with glutinous rice flour. When frozen, you can remove and store in any container/bag.
• Cook from frozen following same method as from fresh (don’t thaw).

Notes

1. Filling balls can be prepared ahead of time, and stored in the freezer for months.