Tangyuan (food)

Tangyuanare a traditionalChinese dessertmade ofglutinous riceshaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes, anything between a marble to a ping-pong ball,and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan are traditionally eaten during theLantern Festival,but because the name is ahomophonefor reunion (traditional Chinese:團圓;simplified Chinese:团圆;pinyin:tuányuán) and symbolizes togetherness and completeness, this dish is also served at weddings, family reunions,Chinese New Year, and theDōngzhì (winter solstice) festival.
Tangyuan is a versatile dessert with a delicate taste and soft, chewy texture. While it can be served in its simplest form as a plain white ball of glutinous rice, it can also be stuffed with either black sesame or other fillings such as crushed peanuts. They can also be colored, fried, and boiled.
Tangyuan is made by wrapping the glutinous rice around the filling that is filled with lard oil and shaping it into a ball by hand.Tangyuan can be sweet or savory by using more traditional fillings like black sesame. Sweet tangyuan can be served in ginger-infused syrup, whereas savory tangyuan are served in a clear soup broth. Unfilled tangyuan are served as part of a sweetdessertsoup known in Cantonese cuisine astong sui(literally: "sugar water").
The traditional filling for tangyuan is made from sesame, peanuts, sugar, and animal fat.
Tangyuan is traditionally eaten during theLantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of a lunar new year, which is the first full moon. The festival falls each year on a day in February in the Gregorian calendar.People eat tangyuan for good luck and hopes of filling their lives with fortune and joy.
According to legend, there was a maid in the palace during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named "Yuanxiao".
She was secluded in the palace for years, missing her parents and crying all day long. Minister Dongfang Shuo was determined to help her, so he lied to Emperor Wu of Han that the God of Fire was ordered by the Jade Emperor to burn Chang'an on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The only way to escape the disaster was to let "Yuanxiao Girl" make a lot of glutinous rice balls, which the God of Fire loved to eat, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and all the subjects would light lanterns and offer sacrifices to her. Emperor Wu of Han approved the request, and the "Yuanxiao girl" finally saw her family. From then on, the Lantern Festival was formed.
The practice of eating tangyuan has been around for over 2,000 years, and has had several names over the years.During theYongle eraof the Ming dynasty, it was calledyuanxiaoinnorthern China. This name translates to 'first night', whereyuan(元) means 'first' andxiao(宵) means 'night'.
During the Tang and Five Dynasties, people ate "noodle cocoons" and "round dumplings without corners" during the Lantern Festival. In the Southern Song Dynasty, "lactose dumplings" appeared. In the poem "Yuanxiao Boiled Floating Dumplings", there is a sentence like "stars shine in the dark clouds, pearls float in the turbid water". These foods can be regarded as the predecessors of glutinous rice balls. By the Ming Dynasty, "yuanxiao" had more names.
People insouthern Chinacall the dishtangyuanortangtuan. In theHakkaandCantonesevarieties of Chinese,tangyuanis pronounced astongyanortongjyun, and the termtangtuanis not commonly used.Legend has it that duringYuan Shikai's rule from 1912 to 1916, he disliked the nameyuanxiaobecause it sounded identical to "removeYuan" (Chinese:袁消;pinyin:yuán xiāo); thus he gave orders to change the name totangyuan.This new moniker directly translates to 'round balls in soup' or 'round dumplingsin soup'. Nowadays,tangyuanrefers to the southern style, whereasyuanxiaorefers to the northern style. The two are primarily differentiated by their method of preparation.
Tangyuan originate from southern China, whereas people in the north call the dishyuanxiao. Like tangyuan, yuanxiao are glutinous rice balls stuffed with filling that are eaten during theLantern Festivaland other important gatherings. Although they look alike, they are two separate things. The fundamental difference lies in their making, fillings, cooking, and storage.TheChaozhouvariation of the Tangyuan is known as Ah Bho Liang (鴨母捻)  which has different filling.
Yuanxiaohave sweet and solid fillings and are served in a thick broth. The surface tends to be dry and soft, and they have a short shelf life.The process of making the dish begins with preparing the solid fillings that are then cut into small pieces. The filling is dipped into water then the dry glutinous rice flour repeatedly, until a round shape is achieved.
Tangyuancan be stuffed with a variety of soft filling that are either sweet or salty, and are served in a thinner soup. The texture is smooth and glutinous, and they can be stored frozen for a long time.Tangyuan are made by wrapping the soft filling in a glutinous rice "dough" and shaping it into a ball.The southern variation is served in a broth that changes depending on the filling. Daikon radish and fish cake broth are used for savory fillings,tong suifor sweeter options.
The taste of tangyuan is quite different between the north and the south in China.
People in the north call making yuanxiao "shaking yuanxiao". The climate in the north is dry, and if you use glutinous rice flour to wrap it, it will easily dry and crack, and when you cook it, it will become a mixed soup, and the skin and stuffing will separate. So in the north, people first prepare the stuffing and cut it into small cubes, put the glutinous rice flour with appropriate dryness and wetness in a basket, put the cut small cubes of stuffing on top, and shake the basket to let the wet glutinous rice flour evenly wrap the small stuffing, and slowly shake it from a small ball into a yuanxiao of appropriate size. This is what people often call shaking yuanxiao. The way yuanxiao is made makes the stuffing and the dough tightly wrapped together, which is different from the southern glutinous rice balls where the skin and stuffing are separated.
Southerners eat glutinous rice balls. Yuanxiao is basically sweet, while glutinous rice balls are both sweet and salty. In Guizhou, there is also a dish called stir-fried glutinous rice balls with pickled vegetables. Glutinous rice balls are no longer a staple food or a snack, but a special dish that is both a dish and a meal. Southern China also have different kinds of tangyuan, such as Ningbo Tangyuan, Guangdong Chaoshan Tangyuan, Shandong sesame jujube paste tangyuan. Each region has its own unique flavor.
For many Chinese families in mainland China as well as overseas, tangyuan are traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, Chinese New Year, and gatherings with family to celebrate. Their round shape and the bowls in which they are served hold cultural and symbolic significance, symbolizing togetherness, unity, and reunion.
The most renowned varieties come fromNingboinZhejiangProvince.However, they are traditionally eaten throughout China.
Tangyuan has also come to be associated with theWinter SolsticeandChinese New Yearin various regions.Today, the food is eaten all year round. Mass-produced tangyuan is commonly found in the frozen food section ofAsian supermarketsin China and overseas.
While tangyuan began as a traditional delicacy eaten during festivals, it has now evolved into a dessert that is consumed year-round. As it became more widespread, over the course of time tangyuan have changed in order to adapt to current tastes. Different renditions have been introduced to the traditional Chinese tangyuan to cater to consumers. New fillings, shapes, and coloring of the glutinous rice are introduced;chocolateand custard fillings are substituting traditional approaches.
Traditional fillings such as black sesame or red bean are not selling as well anymore because people don't want to eat similar flavors every year.Therefore, tangyuan manufacturers have invented new flavors, especially targeting young consumers.Several types of new fillings are starting to appear in stores and restaurants such as chocolate, matcha, taro, or coconut.
For convenience, tangyuan manufacturers also create frozen ready-to-cook tangyuan. These can be kept in the fridge for long periods of time.
As the Chinese dessert spread to other regions of Asia, a variety of renditions emerged from different cultures.
Jiandui, or sesame balls, are a variation of tangyuan. They are made with glutinous rice flour that is fried and coated with sesame seeds to achieve a crisp, chewy texture. The insides of the dessert are stuffed with lotus paste, black sesame, or red bean paste.
Japanesedaifuku-mochiare similar to tangyuan. They were initially introduced from Southeast Asia during theHeian period,.This traditional Japanese dessert ismochi(glutinous rice) stuffed with sweet filling like anko, which is a sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans.Whiledaifuku-mochiare similar to tangyuan, the preparation process is different. A process called wet milling is used to achieve a chewy texture that is less soft than their Chinese counterpart.
South Korea has Gyeongdan. It is Korean rice cake balls made from glutinous rice flour, similar in texture but usually filled with red bean paste or rolled in toppings like powdered soybean, sesame seeds, or mugwort.  They are especially popular during special occasions and Korean holidays
InIndonesia, an adapted version calledwedang ronde(Javanese:ꦮꦺꦢꦁ ꦫꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦝꦺ,romanized:wédang rondhé,lit.'round ball beverage') is a popular food eaten during cold temperatures. The round colored balls of glutinous rice can be filled with crushed peanuts and sugar, or left plain, and are served in a sweetened, mildgingerbroth often boiled in fragrantpandanleaves. Crushed, toastedpeanuts, tapioca pearls, and slices of coconut can also be added.
InMalaysia,buah Melaka(lit.'Malaccafruit') or "onde-onde" is a dessert mainly made of glutinous rice flour which is popular among Malay Malaysians. The greenpandan-colored ball is sprinkled with dry coconut shavings and filled with semi-liquefied sweetgula Melaka(lit.'Malacca sugar'), a type of molasses made from palm nectar.It is enjoyed throughout the tropical summer year and usually sold byMalaystreet hawkers and the Melaka straits-born Chinese community. It is usually enjoyed during teatime and breakfast. A common accompaniment is hotDarjeeling tea.Buah Melakamost likely originated from Straits-born ChineseBaba–NyonyainMalacca, hence the name.
InMyanmar,mont lone yay baw(မုန့်လုံးရေပေါ်) is a traditional festive dish, served duringThingyan, and filled with pieces ofjaggeryand served with coconut shavings.
In thePhilippines, traditional Chinese tangyuan is calledchiōng-uân-îⁿ(Chinese:狀元圓;lit.'zhuangyuanball') orsiōng-guân-îⁿ(Chinese:上元圓;lit.'Lantern Festivalball') inPhilippine HokkienbyChinese Filipinos.
InThailand,bua loi(บัวลอย) is a sweet glutinous rice flour balls in thecoconut milkor ginger syrup.
In southernVietnam, a similar dish calledchè trôi nước, is served in a mild, sweet liquid flavored with gratedgingerroot. In northern Vietnam,bánh trôi(also calledbánh trôi nước) andbánh chayare analogous, with the latter being served withcoconut milk. TheHmong peoplein northern Vietnam also have a similar dessert calledthắng dền, made with glutinous rice for the balls, mung beans, coconut meat, or sesame for the filling, served in hot grated ginger root soup, sometimes with roasted peanuts.