Tang Yuan 汤圆 is a round, stuffed Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice flour and a sweet filling. The outer layer has a soft texture that feels like mochi, but is a little firmer and a little stickier. There are many different sweet fillings, but in KOPI, we use our favourite: ground sesame seeds mixed with palm sugar. Tang Yuan is always served in hot liquid, and we like to add a little fire with ginger and again, a bit of palm sugar.
Ingredients
- Black sesame seeds
- Palm sugar
- Coconut oil
- Glutinous rice
Method
We will start with the filling, because it’ll need to rest a little before using it.
- Toast the sesame seats in a dry pan until the seeds become easy to crush with just your fingers. (Note to self: do not pick up the seeds directly from the pan. Ouch! Also, do not burn the seeds, it’ll taste horrible.)
- Add sugar and seeds 1:1 and blend in a food processor on full power. If your food processor burnsout, take this as an excuse to get a better food processor. You’re looking for the seeds and sugar to form fine and a little oily paste.
- Add a little bit of coconut oil and blitz again until the paste looks like grainy peanut butter.
- Wrap in clingfoil and put in in the freezer until it firms up.
While the filling freezes, move on to the dough.
- Put the glutinous rice in a bowl and add room temperature water while mixing until it is all wet
- Knead until you have a soft, bouncy dough with no dry bits
Now we’re ready to assemble and cook. It is the time to cut up your ginger and start boiling water. While the water and ginger boil, cut off small pieces from the glutinous rice ball into small balls with hollow middle. Cut off a piece from the firm filling block, squeeze the filling into the middle of the glutinous ball. Roll in hand until the filling is completely wrapped inside. Boil until the balls float up to the surface.
Serve
Fish out the balls into a bowl, and enough of the sweet ginger liquid to get the balls covered. Then serve and enjoy hot.