In The Kitchen (At Home) - Tang Yuan (glutinous rice ball dessert) Recipe with Valerie Li

Ingredients
filling:
80 g black sesame
2 ½ tbsp sugar
30 g butter / coconut oil

dough:
130 g glutinous rice flour
3 tbsp boiling water
4 tbsp room temperature water

(suggested serving) unfiltered rice wine + osmanthus flowers

Instructions
1. Prepare the filling. Toast black sesame seeds in a frying pan over low heat. It is done when the seeds are getting a bit smokey. Set aside and cool before the next step.
2. In a blender, food processor, or mortar & pestle, mix the cooled black sesame seeds and sugar until they turn into a sandy texture. Add butter or coconut oil and blend more. The “paste” will be loose and a bit on the sandy side, but don’t worry. Wrap the mixture in saran wrap and chill in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
3. Take the mixture out. Divide the mixture into 20 small sesame paste balls on a tray. Put the tray back in the fridge.
4. In a mixing bowl, gradually pour spoonfuls of hot water into glutinous rice flour while stirring with a spatula (or some chopsticks). Then, add the room temperature water gradually while mixing the dough.
5. Knead the dough until a smooth, soft dough forms. Roll the dough into a long roll. Cover with saran wrap and set aside to rest.
6. Divide the dough into pieces about 20g each. Roll pieces in the palm of your hand into dough balls. Then hold the dough ball in your palm and press it down in the middle using your right thumb. Place a black sesame paste ball in the center of the dough. Gently push the edges of the dough to cover the filling ball and seal.
7. Bring a pot of water to boil, then gently slide in some rice balls. Make sure to stir often so the balls don’t get to stick to the base of the pan. The tang yuans are ready when they start to float.
8. There is a number of ways to serve tang yuan, Valerie suggests serving hot in a sweet, unfiltered rice wine base with osmanthus flowers.

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Valerie Li:
  / valerielisz