Thursday, December 22, 2005

Tang Yuan

Tang yuan is so easy to make and yet I hardly ever make it at all (lazy mah). Tazz kept reminding us to cook tang yuan for Dong Zhi day which is Dec. 22nd, guess I got persuaded by her. Hahaha... Her blog these few days have been about Tang Yuan and how it symbolized unity in a family, guess I'm sold. So, here's my tang yuan.



I added red bean as filling because I like mine with filling. I made gula Melaka & ginger syrup to go with it.





Here's my easy recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice flour
water
red food coloring

Syrup:
A piece of fresh ginger, about 2 inches
water
Chinese brown sugar (the log shape block one) or Gula Melaka, to taste

Filling is optional.

Method:

1. In a bowl, add the glutinous rice flour. Then add in water, tablespoon by tablespoon and stir with a spoon. When a dough like consistency started to form, knead it into a dough.

2. Divide the dough into half. Add half portion with a few drops of red food coloring. Knead until the color is well balanced.

3. Pinch a piece of dough off and shape into a small balls. Do the rest the same way until you finished all the dough (both white and pink).

4. Heat a pot of saucepan with water. When boiling, add a few balls into the boiling water. When the balls float to the top, scoop it out and place it on a plate.

5. In another saucepan, add in the amount of water you want to make the syrup. When boiling, add in the ginger and brown sugar. When sugar dissolved, do a taste test. If not sweet enough, add more brown sugar. If too sweet, add more water. Until it reaches the sweetness you want. Turn it off and set aside. When cooled, drop the tang yuan or glutinous rice balls into the syrup. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to read more about the meaning of Tang Yuan and what is Dong Zhi, please refer to Tazz's blog .

10 comments:

  1. *lol* I didn't know I sounded so persuasive. Yes, family unity is very important so is Tang Yuan. :P

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  2. Hi Belachan, I'm Coxiella from KC. Thanks for your Tang Yuan recipe in KC. I wanted to let you know I've added your blog link to my newly set-up blog. Hope that's okay with you? Cheers, Angie :)

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  3. Ching, I have tagged you for Meme - You are what you eat, see the link here: http://tazzinthekitchen.blogspot.com/2005/12/meme-you-are-what-you-eat.html

    Hope you don't mind.

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  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  5. Thanks for dropping by Angie! :) No problem, won't mind at all. Will check out your blog later!

    Tazz, homework ah! Hahaha...you know I'm lazy right? ;P

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  6. Hi,

    I was wondering if you could help me out with Tazz' recipe for Tang Yuan. I live in California and some of the ingredients I am unfamiliar with. I am not Asian, but I'd like to try and make the Tang Yuan.

    What are the pinkish colored beans called here in the USA? Also, what is "orange sugar" and where can I get it? I was told that Chen Pi is dried mandarin orange skin. Can this be purchased in Asian markets? If not, where do I get it?

    I would really appreciate your help as you to live in the USA and must have some difficulty finding some of these ingredients.

    Thank You,
    Diana
    dianajo@pacbell.net

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  7. Hi Diana,

    Thanks for dropping by. Tang Yuan is actually very easy to make and uses minimal ingredients. I typed out my recipe for you.

    As to answering your questions. The pinkish colored bean is red beans. You don't need orange sugar to make this and as far as I know, it's not sold here. Yes, you can get chen pi in the oriental market here but again all these igredients are completely optional in the making of Tang Yuan.

    Another thing to add, if you can't find chinese brown sugar, you can use white sugar. BUT, the brown sugar gives it a better taste (not sure about the American brown sugar though).

    Hope it helps!

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  8. hi i wonder if you know whether i can leave tang yuan for the next day. i bought a pack of tang yuan which i've cooked today since my children wanted to eat it so badly, but we cannot finish today. is it possible to leave it in the fridge and reheat it again for tomorrow? will the tang yuan still be fresh? thank you!

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  9. Hi Raq,
    Yes you can. Keep it in the fridge and warm it on the stove the next day or reheat it in the microwave. The tang yuan will be hard when you put it in the fridge but reheating it will soften it again. Yes, it's still fresh because you put it in the fridge.

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  10. May be next time you might want try the savory version of Tang Yuan.

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