Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Having a ball: Tang yuan

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I definitely have love for chewy things (as you know) and the tang yuan in this soup my mom made are no exception. The little balls are rolled from a rice flour dough and then boiled in a rich, savory broth filled with napa cabbage, watercress, slivers of pork, and dried mushrooms.
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Tang yuan are usually eaten around the Yuan Xiao holiday and there are tons of variations on how to prepare the chewy little globes. Savory versions typically include a hot, meaty broth, bits of pork, and tung hao cai (a leafy green vegetable, similar to watercress, that I don't know the name of in English). Sweet preparations fill the balls with black sesame, red bean, or peanut paste, or float them unfilled in syrup. There's also a version in which unfilled tang yuan are cooked in a broth of sweet fermented rice and swirls of egg.

Tang yuan aren't difficult to make but they do require a bit of preparation, so it's always a treat when my mom cooks up a pot. In demonstration of my appreciation for her efforts, I was glad to slurp up a large bowlful.

8 comments:

  1. my dad used to make these for us with a sugar cube inside. it's been over 25 years since i've had them but i swear i can still taste them in my mind's memory...

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  2. my parents make the fermented rice, i love it with the tang yuan. yum. they have some in their fridge right now, i think i will go raid it.

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  3. OMG! That's so Toisanese! Do you dip them in soy sauce with lots of black pepper? YUM!

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  4. Annamatic, wow, a sugar cube? Does the sugar melt or is it still solid? I'm fascinated.

    Xiu, what, they just happen to have it around? Why am I not living in your house?

    Gastro888, I've never tried it like that. Sounds delicious!

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  5. wow. i haven't had these in years since my mom's passing. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE provide a recipe!

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  6. Anon, I'll ask my mom, but it'll probsbly take a while. I'd love to know the recipe too!

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  7. This is the type of tang yuan I grew up with as well, and I'd love to get a recipe too. My mom has given me a recipe with a bunch of generalities (a little of this, a little of that...). Mmmmm..... the best I've had was when one of my relatives made it in Taiwan. I remember that it had Chinese celery in it and a very flavorful pork broth.

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  8. Jody, I remember having amazing tang yuan at my grandmother's house in Taiwan too. I've emailed my folks to ask for the recipe. I'll get it up as soon as I can!

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