Black Sesame Tang Yuan 芝蔴汤圆
As it was the first full moon of the year and in chinese tradition we celebrate it with the lantern festival and by eating tang yuan, so i decided to make my own from scratch.
Recipe adapted from https://rasamalaysia.com/black-sesame-dumplings-tang-yuan/
Serving: 6-8 (or more depending on the size of your balls)
Ingredients:
8 oz (200g) glutinous rice sticky rice flour
3/4 cup (180ml) water
1/4 cup black sesame seeds or 1 pack of black sesame powder (this can be found in most asian supermarkets)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick (57g) unsalted butter* (see notes below)
Sugar Water: (or you could follow the original recipe to make a ginger syrup)
2-3 cups water reduced to 4 cups after boiling
1/2 cup sugar
4 oz old ginger skin peeled and then lightly pounded with the flat side of a cleave
Method:
Lightly toast the black sesame seeds over medium fire until you smell the aroma of the black sesame seeds. Please take note that the sesame seeds will start popping when they are heated, so use your lid to cover. Don't burn the black sesame seeds; transfer them out and let cool as soon as they smell aromatic.
Use a mini food processor to grind the black sesame seeds until they become fine. Transfer the ground black sesame or if using black sesame powder add it into a wok , add sugar and butter and stir well to form a thick paste. If they are too dry, add more butter. Dish out and let cool in the fridge.
In a big bowl, mix the glutinous rice flour with water until it forms a smooth paste and no longer sticks to your hands. Divide it equally into 16-20 balls (depends how you like the size, the bigger the size, the easier it is to do the filling). Flatten each ball in your palm, and then use a pair of chopsticks to pick up some black sesame paste and lay it in the middle of the flatten ball. Fold the edge to seal the dumpling. Lightly roll it into a ball shape using both palms,very gently and delicately. Set aside.