Tangyuan

Tangyuan (Simplified Chinese: 汤圆; Traditional Chinese: 湯圓; Pinyin: Tāngyuán), closely related to yuanxiao (元宵), are balls of glutinous rice flour served in a sweet soup or syrup. They are festive foods for the Lantern Festival and the Dongzhi (winter solstice) season and everyday dessert snacks.

Characteristics

Balls may be plain white or filled with black sesame, peanut, or red bean paste; the soup can be clear, fermented rice sweet soup, or ginger syrup. Texture is soft and chewy (qq).

Ingredients (overview)

Glutinous rice flour and water for the dough; sweet fillings optional. Regional yuanxiao-making methods differ (rolling in dry flour vs. hand-wrapping).

History and culture

Filled glutinous balls symbolize togetherness in many Chinese festive tables. Southern and northern naming and techniques differ slightly, but the foods share the sticky-rice dessert role with items like Zongzi in festival seasonality.

Serving and variations

Served hot in bowls. See Chinese Snack, Mooncake, and Zongzi for other festive foods.

See also

• Chinese Snack
• Mooncake
• Zongzi
• Chinese Rice Snack
• List of dishes (A-Z)