It is tradition and customary for family members to sit down together and roll the balls as the rounded balls symbolise family unity, completeness and happiness to mark the end of the last Chinese festival of the year.
Most tang yuan are white in colour. No need food colourings but they can be added to the rice balls to make them colourful. You cannot use any colours. Got pantang (taboo). Only specific colours are allowed. Blue colour is a big no no as it denotes mourning.
Recommended colours are white, red (pink), yellow, orange and green. The white rice balls have to be slighter bigger than the coloured ones and the colours have to come in odd numbers, i.e. either three, five or seven colours. Don’t ask me why but I guess it has got to do with customs and tradition.
It is believed that everyone turns a year older once we have eaten a tang yuan on this festive day. I have eaten a bowl of the tang yuan today. It tasted sweet and delicious! So I am one year older now!
Happy Dong Zhi and happy one year older to all those who celebrate the festival today.
Took this pic of a makeshift stall selling colourful dough outside SEA Park market today.
How to make a sweet soup of glutinous rice flour balls. Simple. First the dough is rolled round.
The rice balls are then put into a pot of boiling water.
Wait for few seconds .....
Until they float which mean thay are now cooked.
Then use a sieve to collect the floating cooked rice balls.
Place the cooked rice balls into a pail of tap water for few seconds ....
Then empty the rice balls into a sieve to drain out the water.
They are then placed into a bowl of pre-boiled soup of ginger, pandan leaves and brown sugar ready to be served.
The sweet soup of glutinuous rice flour balls are cooked and eaten to signify unity and harmony within the family.
1 comment:
Awesome illustration. Will definitely check out yr dessert recipe.
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