Black Sesame Tang Yuan Recipe

I love making this for cold winter days. It’s a wonderful dessert and my family enjoys it every time I make it!

Sesame filling (makes 90 sesame balls)

1. 150g lard
2. 1 tbsp unsalted butter
3. A pinch of salt
4. 200g powdered sugar
5. 100g black sesame

Sweet Rice Dough (makes 54)

1. 291 g Glutinous Rice Flour
2. 145 mL boiling water
3. Additional 75mL warm water
4. Additional ~40g Glutinous Rice Flour

Instructions

Prepare the sesame filling

1. Dry pan fry sesame over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until nicely toasted
2. Transfer sesame into pestle/mortar in small batches and crush until finely ground
3. Repeat until all sesame is ground
4. Melt lard, unsalted butter, and salt in a medium bowl
5. Stir in and melt powdered sugar into lard mixture while still warm
6. Add in sesame and combine well
7. Pour into rectangular cling wrap-lined tupperware (mixture should have ~1 cm in height) and place in freezer for at least 30 minutes (or refrigerator for longer)
8. Take out from freezer and cut into small ~1 cm cubes (should be ~5 grams each). Texture should be firm, if too soft – place back into fridge/freezer for additional time
9. Roll each piece into a sphere and place in freezer. (at this point, it can be stored for a long time)

Prepare the dough

1. Add glutinous rice flour in medium bowl
2. While mixing, stir in boiling water until dough is craggy
3. When able, use hands to start kneading (be careful it’s hot!)
4. Continue knead and add additional warm water and flour as needed until dough is smooth, moist but is no longer sticking to hands.
5. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes

Prepare the tangyuan

1. Take the dough, separate out into 5g pieces, and roll into spheres
2. Holding the dough sphere in both hands, use your thumbs to create a dent and pinch evenly while rotating (tiny pinch pot)
3. Place a frozen sesame ball into the middle and slowly pinch the dough over to cover completely.
4. Repeat
5. Place in freezer until ready to cook

Cooking the tangyuan

1. Bring a pot of water to boil
2. Place tangyuan in (be sure to stir to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom)
3. Take out when they start to float.