Nothing says “Chinese New Year is here” more than a steaming bowl of tang yuan (汤圆)! Also known as Chinese glutinous rice balls, tang yuan delivers a burst of flavour from the filling within: peanut, black sesame or red bean paste.
Round with an outer layer that has a soft, gooey texture similar to mochi, this delectable treat is essential to several traditional festivals: Winter Solstice Festival (Dong Zhi/冬至), Chinese New Year (Spring Festival/春节) and the Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie/元宵节). Lantern Festival also marks the last day of Chinese New Year, so tang yuan is usually served then — warm, in a plain or sweetened liquid. Traditionally, it’d be warm ginger soup!
Who says you always need to have it that way? Enjoy a twist on tradition with these new ways of eating tang yuan!
Air-Fried Tang Yuan
Beautifully crispy on the outside and chewy on the side, your guests will surely be impressed at this dessert! Every bite is an explosion of flavours from within.
Choose from red bean, black sesame paste or the all-time favourite: peanut!
Full recipe here.
8 Treasures Tang Yuan
This is tang yuan gone mini — FairPrice’s Mini Rice Balls will be the cutest addition to any of your Chinese New Year desserts!
Add another sweet dessert of your preference like ice cream, grass jelly or tau huey (soy beancurd) and assemble a treat to call your own.
Full recipe here.
We hope that these two recipes have given you inspiration on how to eat tang yuan in more new ways than one. Happy Chinese New Year to you and your loved ones!
