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Many people take into consideration the winter solstice merely because the shortest day of the yr, however in Chinese language tradition it’s a essential pageant. Dongzhi (冬至), which accurately interprets to “the acute of winter,” has its theoretical underpinning within the idea of yin yang (陰陽 / 阴阳). It’s each a celebration of the shortest day of the yr and the return of longer daylight within the weeks forward. Word that dong zhi is the Mandarin pronunciation; in Cantonese, it’s dong zee.

Throughout winter solstice, households collect collectively to make and eat tang yuan (湯圓 / 汤圆) for dongzhi. (Tang yuan, which is the way it’s mostly spelled in English, is predicated on the Mandarin pronunciation; in Cantonese, it’s tong yoon.) Tang yuan are small round dumplings made with glutinous rice flour and water. The round form of the dumplings symbolizes one’s household coming collectively (or tuanyuan, 團圓 / 团圆). Some households make the candy model of tang yuan. Nonetheless, in Toisan (台山), the place my household is from, individuals typically cook dinner tang yuan in a savory broth with seafood, greens, and meat.

Mama Lin sometimes prepares a broth that’s flavored with rooster inventory, dried shrimp, Chinese language sausage, shallots/onions, and typically lean pork. To serve, she’ll high the bowl of tang yuan with cooked daikon, fried fish cake, scallions, and cilantro. It’s the final winter consolation meals!

By the way in which, most conventional Chinese language holidays are primarily based on the lunar calendar. Because of this, Chinese language winter solstice celebrations could also be on the identical day or a day later than winter solstice primarily based on the Gregorian calendar.

SAVORY TANG YUAN COOKING NOTES

USING GLUTINOUS RICE FLOUR

To make tang yuan, you will need to use glutinous rice flour. My mother sometimes makes use of Erawan model’s glutinous rice flour (from Thailand), which is available in see-through plastic baggage with a inexperienced label. You will discover the flour in Asian grocery shops or on Amazon.

Don’t use common rice flour, because the rice balls is not going to flip chewy. If glutinous rice flour is tough so that you can discover, you possibly can attempt utilizing candy rice flour (reminiscent of Mochiko). Word that candy rice flour/Mochiko tends to be a coarser grind in comparison with Thai-style glutinous rice flour, so the rice balls received’t be as silky tender.

MAKING TANG YUAN DOUGH WITH ROOM TEMP WATER

When Mama Lin began studying the best way to cook dinner tang yuan, she made the dough with boiling scorching water. Scorching water turns glutinous rice flour into a really stretchy, pliable dough. In case you ever make tang yuan with filling, you will need to make the dough with scorching water so as to simply manipulate the dough across the filling. 

As a result of this type of savory tang yuan has no filling, you don’t want to make the dough with scorching boiling water. For the previous decade or so, my mother has been utilizing room temperature water to make the dough as a result of it’s a lot simpler to deal with. This “cold-water dough,” as my mother calls it, is far simpler to knead and the dough doesn’t persist with your arms while you roll it into balls. As soon as cooked, the feel of the tang yuan made with scorching water or chilly water are about the identical.

The disadvantage of the cold-water dough is that the uncooked rice balls can stick to one another or the plate they’re sitting on. As you roll out the balls and switch them to a plate, be sure the balls don’t contact one another. When you find yourself able to drop the rice balls into the broth, invert the plate and gently brush them off. You’ll see {that a} tiny little bit of dough might be caught to the plate, however don’t stress about it. Mama Lin, ever the resourceful one, scrapes off and collects the dough to make one final tang yuan.

COOKING THE DAIKON

One key factor to Mama Lin’s savory tang yuan is daikon (which we name 蘿蔔/萝卜, lo bak in Cantonese). Mama Lin prefers utilizing what she calls “Chinese language daikon,” which is lengthy and plump versus “Japanese daikon,” which is lengthy and skinny. She claims that the Japanese number of daikon is extra bitter, although I can’t say I’ve seen a lot distinction.

To cook dinner the daikon, she boils it with dried shrimp for umami taste, in addition to a small chunk of rock sugar (冰糖, bing tang). The sugar helps stability out the slight bitter flavors of daikon. Rock sugar will be tough to search out, so you possibly can substitute that with 2 teaspoons of sugar.

FISH PASTE

My mother all the time buys fish paste from a fishmonger in Chinatown or Asian supermarkets. In Sacramento, I’ve been capable of finding some at 99 Ranch Market. I like so as to add scallions to the fish paste to provide them additional taste. If fish paste is tough to search out, you possibly can substitute them with fish balls (present in frozen sections of Asian grocery shops) or Japanese-style fried fish cake (additionally present in Asian grocery shops).

CAN YOU MAKE THE TANG YUAN AHEAD?

Sure! Line a big plate with a sheet of parchment paper. Then, prepare the raw tang yuan over the lined plate, ensuring the balls don’t contact one another. As soon as they harden, switch the tang yuan to a freezer bag or container. I like to recommend defrosting the tang yuan earlier than cooking them. 

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Servings: 4

Creator: Lisa Lin

Savory Tang Yuan (鹹湯圓)

This savory tang yuan is a traditional dish that Mama Lin makes to rejoice the winter solstice. My mother by no means measures any of the components, so I’ve streamlined her recipe beneath. The tang yuan dough may be very forgiving. If it’s feeling dry, add a splash of water; if it’s feeling moist, add extra flour. That’s precisely how my mother would make the dough.I exploit a scale to measure my flour and some different components, and I like to recommend doing the identical in case you have one.To make the glutinous rice balls, you will need to use glutinous rice flour. We sometimes use Erawan model’s glutinous rice flour (from Thailand), which is available in see-through plastic baggage with a inexperienced label. You will discover the flour in Asian grocery shops or on Amazon. Don’t use common rice flour, because the rice balls is not going to flip chewy. If glutinous rice flour is tough so that you can discover, you possibly can attempt utilizing candy rice flour (reminiscent of Mochiko). Word that candy rice flour/Mochiko tends to be a coarser grind in comparison with Thai-style glutinous rice flour, so the rice balls received’t be as silky tender.When cooking the daikon, my mother likes to sweeten it with yellow rock sugar, which she purchases in Asian grocery shops (additionally accessible on Amazon). A lot of you in all probability don’t have that in your pantry, so you need to use granulated or some other sort of sugar.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook dinner Time25 minutes

Elements

Daikon

• 1 medium daikon (about 550 to 600 grams), peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, any impartial oil like vegetable, sunflower, and so on.
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/4 cup (15g) dried shrimp, rinsed
• 1 1/4 cups (295mL) water
• 1 small piece of rock sugar (about 8 grams), or 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Fish Cake

• 1 lb (454g) fish paste, from Asian grocery shops (see be aware 1)
• 3 tablespoons sliced scallions, elective
• oil for pan frying fish cake

Soup

• 2 tablespoons oil, any impartial oil like vegetable, canola, sunflower, and so on.
• 1 massive shallot, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 hyperlinks of Chinese language sausages, sliced
• 3 cups (710mL) rooster broth, I used Higher Than Bouillon low-sodium soup base
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra to style
• 3 tablespoons sliced scallions
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions

Make Glutinous Rice Balls

Cook dinner Daikon

• Trim off the inexperienced tops from the daikon. Slice the daikon into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick slices. Then, stack the daikon slices and lower into strips (about 1/4-inch huge).

• Warmth a big wok (or pot) with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over excessive warmth. Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the dried shrimp and cook dinner for one more 30 seconds to 1 minute. Subsequent, add the daikon and 1 1/4 cups of water. Add the sugar and canopy the wok with a lid and convey the water to a boil. As soon as boiled, scale back the warmth barely, and let the daikon simmer for six to eight minutes, till tender.

• Uncover the wok and season with salt. (See be aware 2) Switch the daikon and all of the liquid to a bowl.

Notes

1. You will discover contemporary or frozen fish paste in Asian supermarkets. In Sacramento, I’ve been capable of finding contemporary paste at 99 Ranch Market. I like so as to add scallions to the fish paste to provide them additional taste. If fish paste is tough to search out, you possibly can substitute them with fish balls (present in frozen sections of Asian grocery shops) or Japanese-style fried fish cake (additionally present in Asian grocery shops).
2. My mother says that including the salt too early will trigger the daikon to show barely bitter.
3. Freezing Instructions: Line a big plate with a sheet of parchment paper. Then, prepare the raw tang yuan over the lined plate, ensuring the balls don’t contact one another. As soon as they harden, switch the tang yuan to a freezer bag or container. I like to recommend defrosting the tang yuan earlier than cooking them.

Vitamin

Serving: 1servin | Energy: 639kcal | Carbohydrates: 65.8g | Protein: 36.6g | Fats: 26.2g | Saturated Fats: 4.7g | Ldl cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 1281mg | Fiber: 4.8g | Sugar: 7.2g

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