These chewy-mochi-like rice balls are filled with lava-like nutty black sesame filling and are a delightful treat for many Chinese festivals. Tang yuan or glutinous rice balls are traditionally eaten during special Chinese festivals and enjoyed with a plain or sweetened soup or syrup. Let’s check out this recipe
What is Tang Yuan?
Tang yuan is a Chinese dessert that is shaped into a ball and can vary in size. It’s served in a hot soup or sweet syrup. They can also be filled with savory or sweet fillings.
Why make these?
Freezable. These are great for making a big batch and freezing them so when you have a tang yuan craving just take them out of the freezer and boil them in the sweet syrup. Can have an amazing homemade dessert in less than 10 minutes.
Celebration. Traditionally eaten during the Lunar New Year/Lantern Festival and everyone will enjoy these black sesame-filling glutinous rice balls.
Eye-catching color. The purple color rice balls are a nice contrast to the white ones. It’s very eye-catching and kids will love them.
Why I love this recipe?
Taste better than store-bought. These taste great and it is so fresh compared to the store-bought ones. You also know what ingredients go into the filling and can make adjustments.
Friends and family will love them. Taste great and will satisfy any sweet tooth.
Versatile recipe. Glutinous rice flour is very forgiving when making dough. Using filling is optional and you can use various different fillings like peanuts or red bean paste.
Why do we eat tang yuan on Winter Solstice/Lantern Festival/Chinese New Year?
Tang yuan is generally eaten during Lantern Festival which is the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese Lunar Year. It marks the final day of Chinese New Year celebrations. The word tang yuan is pronounced same the same as the word union in Chinese. Union represents togetherness and completeness.
Eating tang yuan can bring good luck. The sweetness from the syrup or filling would bring hopes of sweetness and joy.
Equipment
Food processor. Food processor is used to grind the black sesame seeds into a course powder. I use the KitchenAid 7 Cup Food Processor but the KitchenAid 3.5 Cup Food Processor will work just as well.
I’ve used both and they both will grind it down easily.
Ingredients, Variations & Adjustments
Glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is a must to make the chewy like an outer wrap. Don’t get it mixed with rice flour. When shopping at Asian supermarkets you will see bagged rice flour in clear bags with printed labelling in red or green color. Look for the green color printed words or make sure to find the rice flour that is labelled glutinous. Make sure not to use rice flour, the dough will not come out chewy and smooth.
Water. Water should be warm to create a nice smooth and plausible dough.
Ube extract. I use ½ tsp of ube extract to get the purple color wrap. It also adds ube flavor to the tang yuan.
Black sesame seeds. Black sesame seeds give this recipe an earthy, nutty flavor. The color of the filling is dark and contrasts the outer white and purple glutinous rice wrap. It is striking! The flavor is more intense than white sesame seeds.
Unsalted butter. The butter needs to be softened before adding to the food processor. I prefer unsalted butter so the sweetness comes out better.
Sugar. Graduated sugar adds sweetness to the sesame filling. I have used light brown sugar and it also works as well. I use ½ cup for this recipe because I want the filling to be sweet enough so I don’t need to make a sweetened syrup.
Ginger. Ginger gives it the nice kick of spice. Omit if you don’t like the flavor.
Pandan leaves. Use fresh or frozen panda leaves. Tie it in a knot so it fits in the pot. You can also use Pandan Syrup
How I make my tang yuan
Prepare the filling
- Grind and Mix Filling. Add the black sesame seeds to your food processor and blend until the black sesame seeds are almost a coarse powder. Roughly 3-5 minutes depending on your food processor. Add the sugar and blend for 2 minutes on high. Once it is well blended add the softened unsalted butter and blend until well incorporated. Refrigerate the black sesame filling for 25-30 minutes.
- Refrigerate filling. When the filling is hard take it out and divide it in to 20 equal portions. The black sesame filling weighed 220 grams (I divided them into 11-12 grams each). Roll them into balls and put them back in the fridge.
Prepare the dough
- Combined flour and water. Add the glutinous rice flour into a medium size bowl. Pour half the warm water and stir until all the water is absorbed. Add the second half and stir until all the water is absorbed into the flour.
- Knead dough. Using your hands knead the dough until it’s well incorporated. The dough should be soft and smooth. Add more water if the dough is cracking and if the dough is too wet and sticky add more flour.
- Divide in half and mix ube extract. The total weight of my dough was 210 grams so I weighed half (Approximately 105 grams) and added the ube extract and knead the dough until the purple color was well mixed into the dough.
- Portion out 20 rice balls. Take the white dough and divide it into 10 equal portions and roll them into balls. If using a scale weigh 10-11 grams for each rice ball. Repeat for the purple dough. You should have a total of 20 rice balls.
Assemble the tang yuan
- Take out filling in batches. Work in batches with the black sesame fillings. Take out of the fridge 5 at a time while you assemble. This is to prevent the filling from melting.
- Assemble. Flatten the rice ball in your hands by pressing your palms down. Using your thumb and make a slight dent in the centre so the sesame filling will sit snug use both sets of hands or use your fingers to gently wrap the edge up and around the top until it’s completely sealed. Alternatively, make a circle with your thumb and index finger and place the tang yuan in the middle and gently wrap it up. Both methods will work. Repeat until all of them have been assembled
Make the sweet broth
- Boil ginger and pandan leaves. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the sliced ginger and pandan leaves and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the sugar and let it simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Cook
- Cook tang yuan in sweet soup. Add the tang yuan to the water and gently stir so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the tang yuan floats to the top it is ready. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve with sweet ginger pandan soup.
Want to color the dough?
Here are some suggestions on what to use to color the dough naturally.
Pink. Use beetroot juice instead of water.
Green. Add ¼ tsp matcha powder to get a green color dough. Pandan juice also works as well but the green will be light.
Orange. Use carrot juice instead of water.
Yellow. Use pumpkin mixed in water.
If you would like to make its easier you can use food coloring instead of natural ingredients.
PRO tips
Make the filling first. The filling requires 30 minutes in the fridge before wrapping to firm up the butter. This will make it easier to wrap and ensure there are no holes cracks or openings.
The dough consistency. What’s great about the dough is you can freely adjust it to get the necessary consistency to wrap the filling easily. You can add more water or glutinous flour when needed.
Freeze extra tang yuan immediately. If you have some leftovers freeze them immediately to prevent the tang yuan from cracking. Once you freeze it places them in a freezer-proof bag.
Recipe FAQs
Is it healthy?
Black sesame seeds are a great dietary fibre and have many beneficial nutrients and key vitamins.Healthline has more details on the health benefits.
Is it the same as mochi?
Glutinous rice balls are similar to mochi in texture, but the method of preparation is different. Glutinous rice balls are boiled and served with a liquid.
It is very similar and uses the same sweet rice/glutinous rice flour. In my Ube Mochi Donuts and Ube Mochi Waffles recipe, I use sweet rice flour. It has a chewy and stretchy texture.
Why is the rice balls not sticking together?
My best guess is that the wrong type of rice flour was used to make this recipe. It is important to use the correct glutinous rice flour. If you use rice flour it will not stick.
My other guess is not enough water was added to the dough. I would suggest adding a little bit until the dough is smooth and plausible.
How to serve
If you are enjoying this recipe during Lunar New Year there are many Lunar New Year recipes that are traditionally made to enjoy with family and friends.
How to store
It is best to freeze uncooked tang yuan so the outer wrap does not dry up and crack.
Cooked tang yuan should be consumed on the same day. The texture does not hold very well if consumed the next day.
How to cook frozen tang yuan
Boil in a pot of water or the sweet soup for an extra 2 minutes. Once you see it floating it’s a good indication that it is ready.
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Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame
Equipment
Ingredients
Tang Yuan Dough
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour aka sweet rice flour
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ tsp ube extract for half the dough
Black Sesame Filling
- ⅓ cup black sesame seeds
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (57 grams)
Sweet Ginger Pandan Soup
- 4 cup water
- 1 slice of ginger
- 2 pandan leaves or pandan syrup
- ½ cup sugar Adjust to your preference
Instructions
Prepare Filling
- Grind and Mix Filling. Add the black sesame seeds to your food processor and blend until the black sesame seeds are almost a coarse powder. Roughly 3-5 minutes depending on your food processor. Add the sugar and blend for 2 minutes on high. Once it is well blended add the softened unsalted butter and blend until well incorporated. Refrigerate the black sesame filling for 25-30 minutes.
- Refrigerate filling. When the filling is hard take it out and divide it in to 20 equal portions. The black sesame filling weighed 220 grams (I divided them into 11-12 grams each). Roll them into balls and put them back in the fridge.
Prepare Dough
- Combined flour and water. Add the glutinous rice flour into a medium size bowl. Pour half the warm water and stir until all the water is absorbed. Add the second half and stir until all the water is absorbed into the flour.
- Knead dough. Using your hands knead the dough until it’s well incorporated. The dough should be soft and smooth. Add more water if the dough is cracking and if the dough is too wet and sticky add more flour.
- Divide in half and mix ube extract. The total weight of my dough was 210 grams so I weighed half (Approximately 105 grams) and added the ube extract and knead the dough until the purple color was well mixed into the dough.
- Portion out 20 rice balls. Take the white dough and divide it into 10 equal portions and roll them into balls. If using a scale weigh 10-11 grams for each rice ball. Repeat for the purple dough. You should have a total of 20 rice balls.
Assemble Tang Yuan
- Take out filling in batches. Work in batches with the black sesame fillings. Take out of the fridge 5 at a time while you assemble. This is to prevent the filling from melting.
- Assemble. Flatten the rice ball in your hands by pressing your palms down. Using your thumb and make a slight dent in the centre so the sesame filling will sit snug use both sets of hands or use your fingers to gently wrap the edge up and around the top until it’s completely sealed. Alternatively, make a circle with your thumb and index finger and place the tang yuan in the middle and gently wrap it up. Both methods will work. Repeat until all of them have been assembled.
Make the Sweet Broth
- Boil ginger and pandan leaves. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the sliced ginger and pandan leaves and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the sugar and let it simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Cook
- Cook tang yuan in sweet soup. Add the tang yuan to the water and gently stir so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the tang yuan floats to the top it is ready. This will take about 4-5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve with sweet ginger pandan soup.