Tang Yuan For Unity and Harmony

14th January 2023

Living in this country full of beliefs, I have learned a lot of things and their symbolic meaning, and how important they are for the Chinese people on different occasions. As Chinese New Year approaches, there are a lot of preparations, and food is, of course, part of them. One thing that I like when CNY is coming is the dessert and other food with symbolic meanings they usually serve during CNY. Among them, my favorite is Tang Yuan or glutinous rice balls.

This food can not be missing from the table during CNY as it is associated with togetherness and completeness. And since it is made from sticky glutinous rice, it is said to strengthen the family bond. Meanwhile, its round shape symbolizes unity and harmony.

We also eat this food during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This has a similar symbolic meaning to the Filipino delicacy, "Biko," made from black glutinous rice which is also served during New Year. There are different varieties of Tang Yuan, fillings, and colors, but my favorite is the white balls with black sesame fillings.

Preparing for this is just so easy and other ingredients include ginger and Chinese bar brown sugar, or what they called peen tong. This kind of sugar is usually used when making desserts, snacks, and sweet soups. I sometimes consumed this as a snack 😅. It reminded me of the kind of sugar in the Philippines called "calamay" made from coconut brown sugar which is also used in making desserts and other Filipino delicacies.

How to cook Tang Yuan?

Just boil an ample amount of water in a pan or small pot along with the ginger. I usually allow the ginger to be boiled for a few minutes before adding the brown bar of sugar. Let the sugar be dissolved and boil for about 5 minutes or more to allow the spiciness of the ginger to come out. It depends on your preference, but I like the spicy soup of this dessert.

Add on the glutinous rice ball and continue to boil until the balls float on the surface of the water. It's an indication that the balls are already cooked.

Do not boil the balls too long, or else, they will crack like what I have done, lol.

I did something while cooking these balls and suddenly lost track of time. Some of the balls cracked, so the soup became darker as the black sesame fillings from the balls came out. Yet, the food was still edible and I even liked the blend of black sesame and ginger soup.

This is my favorite Chinese dessert during CNY and the Mid-Autumn Festival. I like the chewy texture of the rice balls and the sweet soft black sesame fillings.

Moreover, the soup can be drunk as well and it has a similar taste to sweet ginger tea. Again, the soup reminded me of a Filipino drink called, "salabat" from pure ginger powder usually added with brown cane sugar to become sweet.

The ginger and brown sugar are definitely a great combination when cooking glutinous rice balls. I like the spicy and sweet flavor of the soup and it is said to be nutritious too. After eating the balls, you don't need other drinks. Just drink the soup and you'll be satisfied.