Saturday 6 March 2010

Simple Tang Yuan 汤圆

I know that Winter Solstice ( 冬 至 ) had passed, and this year's is yet to come. But the sudden crave for it has lead me to make a simple bowl of Tang Yuan ( 汤 圆 ). So here they are, Tang Yuan in Ginger syrup.


The making of this dessert is super easy. For the syrup, I boiled ginger in a pot of water, then I put in some amount of Gula Melaka, and then due to shortage of Gula Melaka supply, I have to add on some white sugar. No pandan leaves here in Ukraine, so just omitted it. Well, the amount of sugar/Gula Melaka, is all up to individual tasting.

As for the Tang Yuan, it is simple. Some amount of glutinous rice flour added with small amount of water where upon forming the dough, it is not sticky and will stop dirtying your hand. Sorry, I didn't measure the amount of water, I just feel its consistency. If you want colourful Tang Yuan, separate the dough into portions and add a few drops of the colourings of your choice.

Then, when the syrup is boiling, turn it down to slow fire. Take a small pinch of the dough, roll it into small balls, and put into the pot of syrup. After you finish forming the Tang Yuan, turn the fire high, and allow it to boil. When the Tang Yuan is ready, you will see that they will float up. If they aren't ready, they will be at the bottom of the pot.

One interesting story from my mum. I remember my mum told me this when I was young. In olden days, when a woman was pregnant, they can know the gender of the fetus in the tummy. Remember back then they have no ultrasound yet, hehehe. The pregnant woman will make two doughs, one in red, one without colouring. Then she will make two Tang Yuan (one red, one white) and put into the boiling water AT THE SAME TIME. If the red ones float first, means it is a baby girl; if it is the white, then it will be a baby boy. Interesting? Yeah, I think so.

So happy trying this recipe. Have a wonderful weekend!

P/S : For those who needs Glutinous Rice Flour in Simferopol, you can buy it at the Central Rinak. Current price = uah 25 (about RM12) for 500g. Yes, it is expensive here. Fortunately I brought some over from Malaysia, hehehehe.

2 comments:

Mary Bergfeld said...

This looks really interesting. I really like your blog and will be back often to visit. Have a great day...Mary

~~Dreams Come True~~ said...

Thank you, Mary. I am very happy to receive such a comment and really excited to know that u are going to visit my blog often :)
Have a marvelous day!

~~ Dreams Come True ~~

A place to seek for comfort is none better than to
let yourself know that you are actually much fortunate than many others......