Lantern Festival, also known as 元宵节 Yuánxiāo jié, is a traditional holiday with great cultural significance as it marks the official end of Chinese New Year celebrations. It always falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month which, this year, happens to be Feb 15.
The festival is celebrated around the country and includes various traditions and folk customs, such as lighting lanterns, solving lantern riddles, worshiping deceased relatives, and lion or dragon dancing. It’s also a time for a family reunion, appreciating the bright full moon, and eating Tangyuan – round rice dumplings with sweet fillings – all while enjoying other festive activities.
Beijing’s streets are already adorned with red lanterns and supermarkets are selling all sorts of delicious tangyuan.
Making tangyuan from scratch is surprisingly easy. If you’d like to give it a shot, here’s a recipe from Black Sesame Kitchen courtesy of Wendy Xu to get you started.
For the sweet rice dumpling dough:
2 cups sticky rice flour
1 cup water
Optional fillings:
Red bean paste*
Black sesame paste*
Brown sugar**
*If using sweet bean, nut, or sesame paste, form it into small balls, about 1.5cm in diameter. Chill in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up.
*If using Chinese cane sugar, break it into small chunks.
Directions:
Place the rice flour in a large bowl. Stir in half a cup of water, working the water into the rice flour with your hands. Slowly add more water, a little bit at a time, mixing thoroughly so the water is fully incorporated before adding more. Stop when the dough is springy and soft, not too dry but not slippery. Cover with a damp cloth before filling.
Divide the dough into equal-sized balls about 3 cm in diameter. Press your thumb into the center of a dough ball to form a well, place a piece of filling inside, and pinch up the dough to enclose it. Roll it between your palms to smooth the dumpling. Continue with the rest. When the sweet rice dumplings are filled, set aside the ones you want to cook and eat right away, apart from the ones you may want to freeze for future use.
Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sweet rice dumplings in batches of 10-15, and when the water returns to a boil, cook for 2 minutes. Add a cup of cold water to cool down the temperature so that it continues to boil the sweet rice dumplings gently while the water comes to a boil again. Cook for another 2 minutes until the dough becomes translucent and the dumplings float to the top.
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Images: Pexels, Wendy Xu
