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 .