Tang Yuan (Chinese Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame Filling)

Having lived in Shanghai, there’s one Chinese dessert I always look forward to at every gathering: Tang yuan. The sweet glutinous rice balls are sticky and chewy with a similar texture to mochi. They consist of two parts — the skin and the filling — and are served in a sweet ginger broth.

Tang yuan range in size from a marble to a ping-pong ball and come either plain or stuffed with a filling like peanuts, red bean, or ground black sesame (the most traditional). I loved creating these little balls. You’ll want to set aside an hour to make these — your hands will be moving the entire time. 

I spoke with Shenzhi Ni, the pastry chef at Yongfoo Elite, a 20-year-old club-restaurant that was formerly the British Consulate, located in the heart of Shanghai’s former French Concession, to ask what qualities make for a good tang yuan. According to Chef Ni, good tang yuan should be even in size, have a thin skin, a moderate amount of filling, and a hint of sweetness. 

As I tested this recipe, I also explored various ingredient combinations, ratios, and measurements, as there are many ways to make it.

Tang yuan originated in the city of Ningbo about 1,100 years ago. These bite-size sweets have historically been linked with the first full moon of the Chinese New Year, at a celebration known as the Lantern Festival, which occurs on the 15th day of the first lunar month. (If you’re new to the holiday, here’s a guide to navigating the festivities).

Families gather around to eat tang yuan in the belief that it will bring them happiness and good fortune in the new year. Its round shape symbolizes harmony, togetherness, and unity.

Over the years, several names have been given to tang yuan. During the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty, it was called yuan xiao 元宵 (which translates to “first night,” where the character yuan means “first” and xiao means “night”) in northern China. The fundamental differences between the two lie in how they’re made in the north and south, what filling it is stuffed with, how it’s cooked, and subsequently stored. 

Yuan xiao, which is the name generally used in northern China, has a sweet and solid filling and is often served in a thick broth. Tang yuan, as it’s known in southern China, is usually stuffed with a soft filling (either sweet or savory) and served in a thinner soup.

You’ll be surprised to know that most of the ingredients you need for tang yuan are easy to find at large grocery stores. The rest can be bought at Asian supermarkets like H Mart.

• Roasted black sesame seeds. These seeds can be bought in packages. If you have raw black sesame seeds, you can roast them two ways: oven and stovetop. For the oven, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast them at 350°F for 5 to 8 minutes or until aromatic. For the stovetop, place them in a single layer in a frying pan and stir them occasionally for 3 to 5 minutes or until toasty. 
• Sweet rice flour. Also known as glutinous flour, it’s made from short-grain rice, which has a higher starch content. When cooked, it becomes moist, firm, and sticky due to its higher proportion of waxy starch molecules. It has a subtly sweet, almost milky flavor. Look for the flours labeled as mochiko like this one from Koda Farms. 
• Ginger. Choose fresh ginger for a stronger and spicier flavored broth. Slice on the diagonal so the pieces are larger (you can always remove them upon serving). 
• Dark brown sugar or Chinese rock sugar. Use dark brown sugar if you want to give the broth a sweeter flavor and more color. Chinese rock sugar, on the other hand, makes for a lighter, more yellow-toned syrup.

Here’s a basic breakdown of the process.

1. Grind the sesame seeds. Place roasted black sesame seeds in a food processor and process until finely ground. 
2. Form into balls and chill. Add butter, sugar, and salt to the ground sesame seeds and mix it with your hands until combined. Scoop out the mixture and roll each portion in a ball. Refrigerate to allow the flavors to meld and the filling to firm up. 
3. Make and shape the dough. Add warm water slowly to the dough, making sure the dough is not too wet. Scoop the dough out and roll each portion into a ball, dusting your hands with a little all-purpose flour to prevent sticking if needed. 
4. Fill the dough balls. Place the black sesame balls in the center and gently wrap and shape the dough around the filling until it is completely covered. 
5. Make the ginger syrup. Bring water to a boil, add ginger slices and sugar, and cook. Add tang yuan and stir immediately to prevent them from sticking. 

The first time I had tang yuan was at Lao Ji Shi (Old Jesse, 老吉士), a nondescript restaurant serving traditional Shanghai cuisine. There, they offered jiu niang yuan zi 酒酿圆子, a variation of tang yuan, which consisted of chewy mini glutinous rice balls swimming in a warm, subtly sweet soup with fermented rice (or jiu niang 酒酿), dried Osmanthus flower, and goji berries. From what I learned from local chefs, this variation is commonly eaten in the neighboring Zhejiang province, located in east China.

Later on, I discovered another variation of tang yuan that is traditionally filled with ground black sesame. The size appears slightly bigger than jiu niang yuan zi and when you bite on it, the rich filling oozes out like a lava. It is traditionally served warm, slightly submerged in black sesame-, red bean-, or ginger-flavored broth.