Tang yuan (sweet rice balls) with black sesame - recipe

I used to love buying tang yuan (round balls of glutinous rice flour, also spelt tong yuen) in ginger broth from the vendors that popped up in Hong Kong streets as soon as the weather started to cool (which in our subtropical climate, meant dropping from 30 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees). Unfortunately, the government has pushed most of the food vendors off the street, so if you want to eat tang yuan, you will need to visit a restaurant or a Chinese dessert shop. Or make them at home.

The glutinous rice flour balls have a chewy texture similar to mochi. You can buy them in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets, but they are easy to make. They are eaten at Chinese reunion dinners, such as Mid-Autumn Festival, the winter solstice and Lunar New Year because the round shape represents harmony.

You can use white (they are actually tan) or black sesame seeds for the brittle, or a mixture of both. It’s impossible to make a small batch of brittle, so you will have more than you need for the tang yuan filling. Break the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container with packets of food-safe desiccant.

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