Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls in Ginger Tea - Tang Yuan
This tang yuan recipe is all about chewy glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame paste swimming in a comforting warm and sweet ginger tea. It's a popular Chinese dessert during the Winter Solstice Festival and the Lantern Festival. This makes about a five-person serving if you give each person three tang yuan balls.
Disclosure
The equipment and ingredients sections contain affiliate links to products I love to use as well as items that I personally believe make this recipe the best version of itself.
Ingredients
Black Sesame Filled Glutinous Rice Balls
- ⅓ cup roasted black sesame seeds
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
- 5 pieces pecans
- 1½ cups glutinous rice flour
- 1¼ cups warm water
Tang Yuan Ginger Tea
- 8 slices of fresh ginger ~1 inch or 2.5 cm
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 4 cups water
Instructions
Make the Black Sesame Filling
- In a spice grinder, add the black sesame seeds, sugar, nuts and pinch of salt. Pulse together until you get a fine powder that slightly sticks together.
- Transfer to a bowl and pour in the melted butter. Mix everything together until you make a black sesame paste. Spread out and wrap in clingwrap then place in the fridge to solidify for about 20 minutes.
- Once solidified, remove from the fridge and slice into 15 equal-sized pieces. Make black sesame paste balls by rolling a piece between your palms and place it on a plate. Repeat for all other pieces.
- Cover the plate of black sesame balls with the same clingwrap again and place in the fridge to further solidify.
Make the Tang Yuan Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, add the dough and half a cup of the warm water. Mix with a spatula until the water disappears, then add another half cup of water. Repeat one more time. You should get a shaggy dough that just comes together.
- Squeeze the dough together with your hand and knead for about 5 minutes to soften the dough and catch flour from the sides of the bowl. It should have the consistency of a warm playdough. Split the dough into 15 equal pieces. Then cover the pieces to keep them from drying out.
Assemble The Tang Yuan Balls
- Take the black sesame balls from the fridge to work with them and the dough pieces. Take a piece of dough and flatten it, while keeping the center a little thicker than its edges. Place a piece of black sesame paste ball in the center and wrap the dough around it, pinching the edges closed.
- For extra security, roll the ball gently between your palms. Repeat the step for all of the balls, and then cover them so you can place the plate back in the fridge.
Make the Ginger Tea
- In a pot, add the ginger slices, brown sugar, and water (I only made half of the serving in the pictures). Heat the pot until it simmers and continue to simmer for about 10 mins. Mix as the sugar melts. Turn off the heat and let it steep for another 10 minutes, then strain with a mesh to remove the ginger pieces.
Cook the Tang Yuan
- Fill a pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil. Gently add the tang yuan balls and gently stir in the pot as they cook.
- The balls with rise in the boiling water and that's when you'll know they are thoroughly cooked.
- Add some ginger to a bowl, and place a few pieces of cooked tang yuan into the same bowl. Serve while warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 358kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 4gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 21mgPotassium: 144mgFiber: 2gSugar: 28gVitamin A: 201IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 110mgIron: 2mg