Black Sesame Tang Yuan (黑芝麻汤圆)

Black Sesame Tang Yuan in a bowl with a spoon scooping one up.

5 from 1 vote

Black Sesame Tang Yuan (黑芝麻汤圆)

Enjoying Black Sesame Tang Yuan is one of the most simple pleasures. Serve it on the Winter Solstice, at the end of a banquet or as a dessert!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Rolling Time30

Total Time2

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Servings:

Calories: 594kcal

Author: Jeannette

Equipment

Mortar and pestle

Ingredients

For The Dough

500 g / 1.1 lb glutinous rice flour
2 US cup water

For The Filling

100 g / 0.22 lb black sesame seeds
1 tsp white sesame seeds
100 g / 0.22 lb sugar
100 g / 0.22 lb lard

For The Ginger Syrup

110 g / 0.24 lb brown sugar slab (or to taste)
60 g / 0.13 lb rock sugar (or to taste)
110 g / 0.24 lb ginger
5 US cup water

Instructions

Combine the glutinous rice flour with the water and mix until well combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for a minimum of 30 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.
Note: If you plan on letting it rise overnight, test to see if it's too dry the next morning. If you find it too dry or hard to work with, knead in 1 tbsp water at a time until it becomes smooth and pliable.
Toast the black and white sesame seeds in a pan over low heat for 15 minutes or until each white seed has browned. Set aside to cool completely.
Use a mortar and pestle to grind the seeds until they become a fine powder. The finer the texture, the smoother the paste.
Pound in the sugar and lard until it becomes a smooth paste.
Pro Tip: Use a large mortar and pestle so you can mix everything at once.
Roll the paste into balls, roughly 3cm (1") wide and put them on a plate. Cover the dish and freeze for 30 minutes or until firm to touch.
Meanwhile, lightly crush the ginger using a mortar and pestle.
Bring 5 US cup water to a boil, then add the crushed ginger, rock sugar and brown sugar slabs in. Let it simmer on low-medium for 10 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved, then turn off the heat.
Note: The longer it gets boiled for, the spicier it will get from the ginger and the deeper the sweetness from the sugar.
Bring a pot of water to a boil and take the cold filling balls out of the freezer. As the water rapidly boils, pull out a dough ball roughly 2cm (0.8") thick.
Roll it into a ball and flatten it in your palms, then pull, press and mold it around the black sesame ball. Make the skin about 0.5mm (0.02") thick. Once the dough is wrapped around all the filling, give it one final roll to smooth the outside.
Note: If there is any leftover dough, roll them into small 1cm (0.4") thick balls.
Gently place the rolled ball into the boiling water and repeat this with the other filling balls. Once they start to float, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and submerge in cool water.
To serve, take the Black Sesame Tang Yuan out of the water and put it in a bowl with some ginger syrup.
Enjoy hot as is!

Notes

Let the dough rest overnight. This will help it rise and give each glutinous rice ball skin a better texture.
Don't overcook the balls. Once they start floating in the water, take them out quickly so the outer skin doesn't get too soft and fall apart.
Let the filling freeze until solid. As you wrap the filling, they'll begin melting. Make sure to get them firm before working on them so they retain their shape.
We get glutinous rice flour from the Asian supermarket. It is not to be confused for rice flour, which is an ingredient typically used in desserts.
You can make your own by rendering pork fat as we did with our Hokkien Pork Noodle Soup. Let it cool completely before use. Alternatively, substitute it using equal parts unsalted butter, ghee or coconut oil. Just be mindful of the fact that the flavors will differ depending on which one you use.
We use a mix of rock sugar and brown sugar slabs for a rich yet light syrup. You can use regular sugar or any sweetener you prefer. Remember to adjust to taste as different types will have different levels of sweetness.

Nutrition