{"id":6349,"date":"2013-12-17T21:59:14","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T13:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peepor.net\/pint\/blog\/?p=6349"},"modified":"2013-12-17T22:34:32","modified_gmt":"2013-12-17T14:34:32","slug":"tangyuan-%e6%b1%a4%e5%9c%86%ef%bc%89for-the-winter-solstice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peepor.net\/pint\/blog\/?p=6349","title":{"rendered":"Tangyuan (\u6c64\u5706\uff09For The Winter Solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Glutinous<\/p>\n

\"Glutinous<\/p>\n

Tangyuan (\u6c64\u5706), or glutinous rice ball, is a type of dessert served during many auspicious occasions celebrated by the Chinese, Koreans, Japanese and Vietnamese: the winter solstice (\u51ac\u81f3) when daylight is the shortest (i.e. daylight will start to get longer, which means winter is coming to an end); the Yuanxiao Festival (\u5143\u5bb5\u8282) to celebrate the first new moon after the Chinese Lunar New Year; other occasions which call for festive celebrations – weddings, birthdays, anniversaries etc. In fact, the word ‘\u6c64\u5706’ (tangyuan) is a homophone for ‘\u56e2\u5706’, which means reunion and togetherness. This symbolism is further illustrated by the roundness of the balls and the sweetness of the broth. Hence the rounder the balls are the better.<\/p>\n

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The evolution of the glutinous rice ball has come a long way, from plain white-coloured balls without filling to multi-coloured ones containing all sorts of oozing delights. In my first attempt to make tangyuan for the winter solstice, I took the easy way out and used the off-the-shelf ready-made sesame paste to get out of the hassle of making it myself. This paste is definitely not as tasty and aromatic as those that used roasted ground sesame seeds or peanuts, but it is at least a minimal attempt on my part to celebrate the coming of longer, sunnier, chirpier and hopefully better days ahead.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n