3 flavours of Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan 汤圆)
Recipe Published: Feb 1, 2023
Written by: Jasma
RECIPE BREAKDOWN
Difficulty: simple | Serving: 12 glutinous rice balls (17 g) of each flavour
INGREDIENTS
Pistachio Osmanthus Filling:
55 g (1/3 cup) ground pistachio
25 g (1 ½ tbsp) osmanthus sugar syrup
1 tsp melted coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Green Wrappers:
65 g (1/2 cup) glutinous rice flour
55 g (4 1/2 tbsp) warm water
Matcha powder
White Sesame Goji Filling:
45 g (1/3 cup) roasted white sesame seeds
15 g (2 tbsp) roasted walnuts
10 g (1 ½ tbsp) goji berries
Pinch of salt
20 g (1 tbsp) honey
1 tsp melted coconut oil
Plain Wrappers:
65 g (1/2 cup) glutinous rice flour
55 g (4 1/2 tbsp) warm water
Taro Rose Filling:
60 g (1/4 cup) taro, peeled and cubed
25 g (1 1/2 tbsp) rose sugar syrup
1 tsp coconut oil
Pinch of salt
Pink Wrappers:
65 g (1/2 cup) glutinous rice flour
55 g (4 1/2 tbsp) warm water
Beetroot powder
TIPS & RECIPE NOTES
Freeze leftover tang yuan
Tang Yuan is not recommended to be eaten in large portions as glutinous rice is very filling. Be sure to freeze any uncooked assembled tang yuan to ensure they do not crack and to prolong their shelf life for months in the freezer. Simply boil straight away when you feel like having a boil of warm tang yuan!
Sugar syrup substitutes
If you aren’t able to get your hands on the rose and osmanthus sugar syrup, you can substitutes them with dried rose petals/osmanthus flowers and honey or maple syrup. Though keep in mind they may be sweeter than the floral sugar syrup so you may have to reduce the amount added.
Here's the video tutorial! For more go check out my Youtube channel!
LET’S BEGIN!
Filling
Pistachio osmanthus filling:
1. Blend the roasted pistachios in a food processor until finely grounded.
2. Transfer the ground pistachio into a bowl and combine with the osmanthus sugar syrup, melted coconut oil, and salt.
White sesame goji filling:
3. Blend the roasted sesame seeds and walnuts in a food processor until it reaches a sand like texture.
4. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and combine with honey, melted coconut oil, and salt.
5. Soak the dried goji berries in warm water for a minute.
6. Drain the goji berries, add to the sesame filling, and mix gently to combine.
Taro rose filling:
7. Steam the peeled and cubed taro on high heat for roughly 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
8. While the cooked taro is hot, mash with a fork.
9. Mix the rose sugar syrup, coconut oil, and salt with the taro until combined.
10. Portion all the filling into 7 g each. Cover and freeze.
Dough
11. Mix warm water (roughly 120°F/50°C) with the glutinous rice flour until a dough forms.
12. For the pistachio and taro flavours, dye the dough pink and green using a tiny amount of beetroot powder and matcha powder, respectively.
13. Cover the knead dough with plastic to prevent it from drying out.
14. To portion, cut each batch of dough into 12 pieces, weighing roughly 10 g each.
Assembly & Cook
15. Wrap the frozen filling with the dough, ensuring there are no air bubbles trapped within and that all the seams are completely sealed.
16. Drop the glutinous rice balls into a pot of boiling water.
17. Once the water comes back to a rolling boil, pour in some cold water to drop the overall temperature.
18. When the water boils once again and the glutinous rice balls are all floating to the surface, they are cooked.
19. Serve in a shallow bowl with the soup and feel free to add any mix-ins to spice up the flavour and colours.