This winter, I had the luxury of my parents being around to share some Chinese traditions with my daughters. Besides Chinese New Year this past weekend, we also celebrated Winter Solstice back in December. A traditional dish eaten during the Winter Solstice Festival is Tang Yuan - a sweet dumpling soup. I remember making these tang yuan from scratch with my mom. This year, my mom shared that tradition with my daughters and they had such a great time making them with her.
Tang Yuan is very easy to make (basically glutinous rice flour, a little sugar, and water). Once the dough is made, you knead it until it's soft. You can divide the dough in half to add color (optional). We wanted to make red and white balls so for our red (or pink) ones, we used beet juice instead of food coloring. Once the dough is of the desired consistency - smooth yet not too sticky, you pinch off pieces to make round little balls. Z & L got creative and made different shapes. When they are ready to cook, you just drop into boiling water. Once they float to the top, they are done. You then drop it into the sweet soup which is water, brown sugar, and ginger slices (optional).
