"Made some of these during thanksgiving, ate so many and now I wish I bought some back with me to Bing. Great way to thaw out a frozen heart. They're the reason why I'm such a nice person now. Black sesame-filled tang yuan with plain skin (left) and matcha skin (right)."
Black Sesame Tangyuan With Plain Skins And Matcha Skins
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Historically, there are many ways to form tang yuan. After experimentation, the below method seems to be easiest and produces tangyuan that are perfectly chewy on the outside with a sweet and flavorful filling that gushes out when bitten.
BLACK SESAME FILLING:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups finely ground black sesame seed*
- ½ cup finely ground white sesame seed*
* You can use any mixture of ground sesame seed as long as the total amounts to 2 cups
Directions:
1. Heat the butter until just melted and remove from heat.
2. Stir in sugar and sesame until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Chill until mixture has solidified (about 2 hours)
4. Place teaspoon sized amounts into your palms and roll into a spherical shape and place onto a tray. Repeat until all of mixture is used up. It’s ok if the sesame balls are touching each other on the tray.
5. Freeze the sesame balls for about 1 hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR PLAIN SKINS
- 1 ¾ cups glutinous rice flour
- ¾ cups water, more required if dough dries out
FOR MATCHA SKINS
- 1 ¾ cups glutinous rice flour
- 1 tbsp matcha
- ¾ cups water, more required if dough dries out
- Optional: If you’d like to balance out the bitterness of matcha, add 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Plain: In a large bowl with the rice flour, gradually add in water and stir as you go. Knead with hands until dough is smooth and does not stick to hands. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
2. Matcha: Same as above, but be sure to incorporate matcha and sugar, if using, into the flour before adding water.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ASSEMBLY:
1. Take a tablespoon sized amount of dough and form into a thin disk (about ¼ “) with your fingers.
2. Place a frozen sesame ball into the middle of the disk and use fingers to pinch the ends together. Remove any excess dough. The thickness of the skin is up to you, but be sure it won’t be too thin such that it breaks during cooking. Roll the tangyuan between your palms to ensure a smooth and spherical appearance.
3. Place formed tang yuan onto trays, making sure that they do not touch. Freeze trays for 15 minutes each, then place into sealable airtight bags or containers.
4. To cook: Boil water until rolling boil. Add tang yuan pieces, one by one, being sure not to crowd the pot. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t stick.
5. Remove from pot. Serve warm.
---My Note---
I like to eat tangyuan with the water used to boil them, as I feel that sweetness and flavor of the tang yuan are perfect on their own. But, some prefer serving with a warm sugar syrup/broth or a sweet ginger syrup/broth. Others like to garnish with dried osmanthus flowers, while others boil the osmanthus in the syrup/broth and serve it as osmanthus ginger syrup/broth.
BLACK SESAME FILLING:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups finely ground black sesame seed*
- ½ cup finely ground white sesame seed*
* You can use any mixture of ground sesame seed as long as the total amounts to 2 cups
Directions:
1. Heat the butter until just melted and remove from heat.
2. Stir in sugar and sesame until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Chill until mixture has solidified (about 2 hours)
4. Place teaspoon sized amounts into your palms and roll into a spherical shape and place onto a tray. Repeat until all of mixture is used up. It’s ok if the sesame balls are touching each other on the tray.
5. Freeze the sesame balls for about 1 hour.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR PLAIN SKINS
- 1 ¾ cups glutinous rice flour
- ¾ cups water, more required if dough dries out
FOR MATCHA SKINS
- 1 ¾ cups glutinous rice flour
- 1 tbsp matcha
- ¾ cups water, more required if dough dries out
- Optional: If you’d like to balance out the bitterness of matcha, add 1 tbsp granulated sugar
Directions:
1. Plain: In a large bowl with the rice flour, gradually add in water and stir as you go. Knead with hands until dough is smooth and does not stick to hands. If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
2. Matcha: Same as above, but be sure to incorporate matcha and sugar, if using, into the flour before adding water.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ASSEMBLY:
1. Take a tablespoon sized amount of dough and form into a thin disk (about ¼ “) with your fingers.
2. Place a frozen sesame ball into the middle of the disk and use fingers to pinch the ends together. Remove any excess dough. The thickness of the skin is up to you, but be sure it won’t be too thin such that it breaks during cooking. Roll the tangyuan between your palms to ensure a smooth and spherical appearance.
3. Place formed tang yuan onto trays, making sure that they do not touch. Freeze trays for 15 minutes each, then place into sealable airtight bags or containers.
4. To cook: Boil water until rolling boil. Add tang yuan pieces, one by one, being sure not to crowd the pot. Boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t stick.
5. Remove from pot. Serve warm.
---My Note---
I like to eat tangyuan with the water used to boil them, as I feel that sweetness and flavor of the tang yuan are perfect on their own. But, some prefer serving with a warm sugar syrup/broth or a sweet ginger syrup/broth. Others like to garnish with dried osmanthus flowers, while others boil the osmanthus in the syrup/broth and serve it as osmanthus ginger syrup/broth.