My mom makes the best tang yuan. Tang yuan is translated to soup circle. It is made with glutinous rice flour mixed with some water and rolled into balls. The soup base is made with just water and brown rock sugar or brown candy. A bowl of tang yuan is usually served at the end of a meal or during a special occasion. I’ve noticed my mom tends to make tang yuan for dessert during Chinese holidays. I had to travel to New York City over the weekend to attend my grandma’s funeral. Our immediate family also traveled from across the country to attend her funeral, pay their respects, and mourn her passing. It was comforting to see all of my family and relatives join together. I haven’t seen many of my relatives in a very long time, but was able to see them at my grandma’s funeral. The last couple of days had been tough for everyone especially my mom. The wake was held on Sunday, while the burial was held on Monday. My mom and her siblings hosted a lunch immediately after the burial for all of the guests who attended the burial. When we returned back to my mom’s home in Brooklyn, she made a batch of tang yuan for our family. It was a sweet gesture. I’ve eaten a lot of tang yuan growing up. It is one of the simplest Chinese dessert dishes usually served at the end of a meal. It was a dish my grandmother taught my mom and aunts how to make. They in turn taught us how to make it. I’ve watched my mom make tang yuan just a couple times over the years, but yesterday, I wanted to spend time watching and learning how my mom made tang yuan from scratch. My mom would bring two pots of water to a boil. As the water is coming to a boil, she would roll each tang yuan using her hands. Then, she would drop each of the tang yuan balls into the boiling water. Once the tang yuan balls started to float, she would strain out the water and run the tang yuan balls through cold water. The other pot of boiling water is reserved for melting the brown rock sugar or brown candy. If the soup was too sweet, she would add more water. If the soup was not sweet enough, she would add more sugar. As a last step, my mom would place the cooked tang yuan balls into the brown sugar soup. In under 20 minutes, the entire dessert was complete. She would ladle a scoop of tang yuan balls and brown sugar soup into individual serving bowls and then serve it to the rest of our family. Cooking was my mom’s way of healing. Cooking and baking also became my way of healing. My grandma’s passing made me reflect a lot on the wonderful memories I had of her growing up. It also helped me gain a much deeper appreciation for spending time with my mom. Cooking in the kitchen is one of those times where we can bond, chat, and collaborate. Spending time with my mom in the kitchen keeps me grounded and connected to my roots.
Tang Yuan:
For the soup circles or rice flour balls:
· 1½-2 cups glutinous rice flour
· ½-1 cup lukewarm water
For cooking the tang yuan:
· 3 cups water
· 2 cups cold water
For the brown sugar soup:
· 3 cups water
· 2-3 pieces of brown rock sugar or brown candy
Directions:
1) Bring two pots of water to a boil on medium heat.
2) In a large bowl, add the glutinous rice flour. Slowly drizzle in the lukewarm water. Stir until the dough comes together. Break off chunks of the dough and roll each into a ball. Continue until all rice flour balls are formed. If the dough is too dry, add more water. If the dough is too wet, add more flour. Drop the balls into one pot of boiling water. Let the balls cook for 8-10 minutes. Strain them and place them into the cold water.
3) In the other pot of boiling water, add two to three pieces of brown rock sugar or rock candy (depending on your sweetness preference). Stir until the brown rock sugar or rock candy is melted. Add the rice flour balls back into the brown sugar soup. Serve immediately.
Takeaways: Tang yuan can be sweet or savory. An alternative, savory version, my mom sometimes makes features cut up radish and dried baby shrimp soup with rice flour balls.