Easy Tang Yuan with Black Sesame Filling (Healthier version)
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep Time: 50 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 10 minutesminutes
Servings: 28tang yuan
Author: Marvellina
Soft and chewy tang yuan (glutinous rice balls) recipe with easy black sesame filling in sweet ginger broth is one of our family's favorites tang yuan. This is a healthier version without using any butter and it is still very tasty.
100grbrown sugaror use muscovado or coconut sugar for unrefined sugar
3pandan leavesknotted
Instructions
Prepare the sweet ginger broth:
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add ginger, screwpine leaves, and sugar. Bring it back to a boil and then lower the heat to let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Have a taste and add more sugar if you like
Prepare the filling:
I bought toasted black sesame seeds so I don't need to toast mine anymore. If yours are untoasted, you can put them on a dry pan and toast them for 10-15 minutes over low heat until they smell nutty. Remove and let them cool down
Transfer to a food processor and pulse a few times until they turn into powder. Mix with sugar and oil and set aside
Prepare the dough:
Place the flour and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix. Start with 100 ml of hot boiling water (make sure it's really hot) and stir with a spoon and when it's not too hot anymore, knead with your hands until you get a non-sticky dough that is soft and pliable. If it's too dry, add a bit more warm water, it shouldn't be too wet that it sticks to your hands or bowl but it should be a smooth and stretchy dough
Shape and fill the dough:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the tang yuan. Divide the dough into 28 portions. Work with 1 dough at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Take one dough and make an indentation in the middle and stretch to form a bowl. Fill the dough with a scoop of black sesame filling you prepared earlier. Gather the side of the dough and enclose it and roll them in between your palms to make it round. Make sure you seal the tang yuan nicely or the filling will leak out when you cook them. If the dough gets dry, dab with some water and then gently roll it smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and continue with the rest
Boil the tang yuan:
When water comes to a rolling boil, add the tang yuan and cook until they float to the top and let them cook for another minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and submerge them in a large bowl of water to prevent sticking. The water doesn't need to be ice cold. I just use regular room temperature water
To serve:
Portion out the cooked tang yuan into serving bowls and ladle the sweet soup over it and serve immediately. Tang yuan can be served warm or at room temperature
Video
Notes
You can also use same amount of black sesame powder or black sesame paste to make the filling. If the black sesame paste has been sweetened, simply adjust the amount of sugar or omit altogether to suit your taste