Today I am going to share with you one of my favorite Asian delights. Glutinous rice balls. Similar to a recipe I shared for Chinese New Year these Glutinous rice ball are still different. Glutinous rice balls are a dumpling dessert that can be filled with red bean paste or black sesame. Glutinous rice balls also known as 湯圓(tangyuan) in Chinese, are traditionally prepared for the lantern festival. They are said to be ‘round like the moon’.
1. First, I found my ingredients, first you needed to get:
30g of wheat starch,
30ml of boiling water,
75g of glutinous rice flour,
30g of sugar,
65ml of water,
30g of shortening,
100g of grated coconut (this is optional), and
100g of red bean paste.
2. Now pour the 30g of wheat starch into a mixing bowl and add boiling water then mix. Now set the batter aside.
3. Pour 75g of glutinous rice flour and 30g of sugar into another mixing bowl. Make a well in the center before pouring 65ml of water into the well and mix the dough and water evenly. Combine this with the wheat starch batter and knead them together evenly. Add shortening and knead until the dough is no longer sticky. Cover the dough with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before using this will prevent the pastry from being too sticky during wrapping.
4. After 20 minutes, start making the balls on a floured roll the dough into a long cylinder. Cut the dough into equal pieces, each about 20g. Lightly flatten each piece into a 0.5 cm thick round disc. Scoop a small dollop of red bean paste onto the center of each piece of dough. Seal the red bean filling a mold into a round ball. Repeat this until all the ingredients are used up.
5. Steam the balls for around 5 minutes under medium heat.
6. You can coat them with grated coconut if you would like but this is only optional. Serve the dumplings immediately. The dumplings have a chewy dough, and the red bean paste will melt in your mouth making the perfect combo!
And that is my mini-miche review!