Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan)

Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan). A warm, delicious and sweet Chinese dessert soup with chewy glutinous rice balls.  It’s vegan and simple to make.

What are Glutinous Rice Balls?

Glutinous Rice Balls or "Tang Yuan" in Chinese ('tang' means soup and 'yuan' means balls) are chewy rice balls in a delicious hot sweet dessert broth. The rice balls are made of glutinous rice flour, icing sugar and water and sometimes are stuffed with fillings such as black sesame paste or sometimes even peanut butter. The sweetened broth is made of water, ginger, Chinese Rock Sugar or cane sugar and pandan leaves. This is a common dessert idea in Chinese cuisine and often made to celebrate very special occasions, like a wedding.

Furthermore, tang yuan is usually served to a Chinese Bride and Groom on the day of their tea ceremony or sometimes the night before to symbolize success and family unity. The round rice balls represent a wholeness in marriage. In fact, the night before I got married my mom and her sisters made this for me and my husband. I still remember the moment. Definitely a sweet memory for me, no pun intended.

I really enjoy the light taste of the sweet soup made with ginger, water, Chinese rock sugar and pandan leaves. However, the best part are those soft chewy glutinous rice balls. This recipe is very easy to make at home and you can even skip the coloring process if you wish. My glutinous rice balls soup is perfect for entertaining guests if you want to serve a dessert that can be made in large batches.  Usually one guest would receive a bowl of the sweet soup with about 5 balls.

Ingredients

Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements. 

Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.  

Rice Balls:

• Glutinous Rice Flour (it should say "glutinous" on the packaging)
• Icing Sugar
• Water
• Blue food coloring
• Red food coloring
• Green food coloring

Dessert Broth:

• Chinese Yellow Rock Sugar or sub with Cane Sugar
• Water
• Pandan Leaves
• Fresh Ginger

How to make Tang Yuan

Make Sweet Broth

In a large pot, add water, sliced ginger, rock sugar and knotted pandan leaves. Cover with a lid. Bring to a boil and reduce to a rolling simmer for 30 minutes.

Make Glutinous Rice Balls

In 4 separate bowls add 50 grams of rice flour and 10 grams of icing sugar to each bowl. Then add 30 ml of hot boiling water to each bowl. Add to 1-2 drops of each color to each bowl (except the fourth which will be white). Whisk to form dry dough ball. The dough ball should not be tacky and should feel dry to touch. If it's too tacky, add a bit more rice flour and roll it out until it's no longer tacky.

Create Small Rice Balls

Then roll out each colored dough ball(s) into a 1 inch thick log. Cut the log into 1 inch wide pieces. Roll each piece into a 1 inch wide ball. Coat with additional rice flour to prevent it from sticking or place them on parchment paper.

Boil Rice Balls in Sweet Broth

Once complete, boil as many rice balls as desired in your sweet broth until they float. Enjoy!

Storage & Reheating

Store the glutinous rice balls in an airtight container with parchment paper between each layer of the balls or in a ZipLock bag and freeze them for up to 4 months to re-boil for later! To reheat, re-boil them in the same sweet broth and when they float, they're ready to enjoy.

Expert Tips

• Use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients. Unfortunately, a measuring cup in millimeters is not reflective of grams.
• Roll the smaller balls in extra glutinous rice flour to prevent them from sticking to your plate or place them onto parchment paper.
• I highly recommend using pandan leaves for the tang yuan soup. They may be available at specific Asian or Vietnamese grocery stores either in the fresh or frozen aisle. Make sure you knot the leaves prior to adding them to the broth.

FAQ

Where can I find Chinese Rock Sugar?

The Chinese or Asian grocer will sell it and it looks like this:

What is Glutinous Rice Flour?

It's finely grounded up glutinous rice with a starchy texture. It's often sold in plastic bags and the packaging says "glutinous rice flour". Many Chinese grocers sell this item.

Are glutinous rice balls gluten free?

Yes! Even though the rice flour is glutinous, there is no wheat and it is 100% gluten free.

Why do the Chinese eat Tang Yuan?

Tang Yuan are a symbolic and delicious food in Chinese culture. It represents wholeness and union. Hence why it's often served at the bride's hair combing ceremony or the night before a couple's wedding to wish them a good marriage.

How do you eat glutinous rice balls?

The best way to have them is with a taste of that sweet broth as you bite into that chewy doughy ball!

Other recipes you may like!

• Chinese Tofu Sweet Pudding
• Coconut Mango Sago Soup
• Hanami Dango
• Filipino Taho
• Kuih Seri Muka
• Hawaiian Butter Mochi

📖 Recipe