Tangyuan

Tangyuan (Simplified Chinese: 汤圆; Traditional Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán) or tangtuan (汤团; pinyin: tāng tuán), is a Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water. Tangyuan that has been filled with sweet or savory fillings are collectively known as yuan xiao (元宵; pinyin: yuán xiāo). Different ways of cooking can be used, in Guangdong and Taiwan a sweeten soup is used; it can be either a soup made of sweetened red beans (Hongdou), or ginger and rock sugar. Filled tangyuan (yuan xiao) can be filled with a wide variety of ingredients including red bean paste, chopped peanuts and sugar, sesame paste (ground black sesame seeds mixed with lard and sugar), rock sugar (which would create a hot, melting caramel-like filling), etc. Area code: 454