Let’s make delicious Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Plain & Matcha Tang Yuan) with this super easy Tang Yuan recipe. These chewy soft tang yuan balls are filled with a delicious peanut filling, served in an amazingly fragrant and warm ginger soup. This will be your new favourite chinese dessert recipe. Enjoy!
Watch How To Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Plain & Matcha Tang Yuan) 双色花生汤圆 – Recipe Video
Learn How To Make Glutinous Rice Ball with Peanut Filling With This Easy Tang Yuan Recipe
Peanut Glutinous Rice Ball is a popular Chinese dessert. Served in a warm sweet ginger syrup, it is an extremely comforting and delicious dessert. Similar to Japanese mochi, these glutinous rice balls with peanut filling have a sticky, stretchy, soft, and chewy texture. They are often enjoyed during festive celebration like Winter Solstice, New Year and even at weddings.
A classic Chinese sweet dessert that is enjoyed by all, especially those who love anything peanut and mochi. And the good news is, its very easy to make at home too. You can make in advance and keep frozen and cook them whenever you feel like having them.
What Are Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan)?
Tang Yuan (汤圆) is a Mochi-like Chinese dessert consisting of glutinous rice ball dumplings. The dough for Tang Yuan balls is a combination of glutinous rice flour and water. The glutinous rice flour gives the tang yuan its signature chewy and sticky texture. It can be made large or small, made plain or with fillings and usually served in a sweet syrup.
What are Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls?
Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls are basically glutinous rice balls (Tang Yuan) filled with toasted sweet peanut filling and served in a sweet ginger syrup. The filling is a combination of ground peanut, sugar, salt and oil. Similar to Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame filling, these peanut glutinous rice balls are usually made slightly larger compared to the plain glutinous rice balls to ensure the peanut filling can be fully enclosed in the rice balls. Otherwise the filling can ooze out during the cooking process.
Ingredients You Need To Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls
Peanut Filling:
- raw peanut (skinless)
- sugar
- cooking oil
- salt
Sweet Ginger Syrup
- water
- old ginger (skinned, smashed)
- rock sugar
- pandan leaves (knotted)
Plain Glutinous Rice Ball Dough
- glutinous rice flour
- water
Matcha Glutinous Rice Ball Dough
- glutinous rice flour
- icing sugar
- matcha powder
- water
How to Make Tang Yuan with Peanut Filling – A Step By Step Overview
Prepare Peanut Filling:
- Toast peanuts, cooled and grind into a paste. Then add in sugar, pinch of salt and cooking oil and mix till well combined.
- Keep refrigerated till peanut filling is firm enough to handle.
Prepare Sweet Ginger Syrup:
- Skinned ginger and smashed into thick pieces.
- Boil a pot of water and add in rock sugar, smashed ginger and pandan knot. Bring to a boil again.
- Lower heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Prepare Peanut Tang Yuan (White Dough)
Method 1: (Combining Cooked Dough and Raw Dough)
- Knead glutinous rice flour and water to form a smooth dough.
- Pinch dough and cooked in boiling water.
- Add the cooked dough into the raw dough and continue to knead till a smooth and elastic dough is formed.
- Divide into small pieces, round into balls, flatten and formed into round wrapper. Add peanut filling in the middle, pinch to secure and roll into balls again.
Prepare Peanut Tang Yuan (Matcha Dough)
Method 2: (Adding Hot Water Into Dough Mixture)
- Combine glutinous rice flour, icing sugar, matcha powder and hot water in mixing bowl. Knead into a smooth dough.
- Divide dough into smaller pieces, roll into balls, flatten and add peanut filling in the centre. Pinch to seal completely and shape into balls.
- Cover to prevent drying out before cooking.
Cook Glutinous Rice Balls
- Gently drop glutinous rice balls into a pot of boiling water. Allow to cook till the dumpling skins turn almost translucent and starts to float to the surface.
- Add more room temperature water and allow to cook till water boils again. And the glutinous rice balls are fully cooked. Immersed in cold water till rice balls are fully cooled. Transfer to serving bowl and serve warm with sweet ginger syrup.
How To Serve Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan)?
The best way to enjoy Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls is with a taste of the sweet syrup as you bite into the chewy doughy glutinous rice balls. First, put the cooked glutinous rice balls (usually about 3 to 4 balls) in a serving bowl. Then pour the hot or warm sweet ginger syrup over them and enjoy.
How To Store Glutinous Rice Balls?
You can store these glutinous rice balls (Tang Yuan) by freezing them. Keep these frozen uncooked tang yuan balls in airtight containers and freeze them for up to 4 months to cook for later use. Do not keep for too long as the skin will crack on boiling if kept for too long. There is no need to defrost when cooking frozen glutinous rice balls. Just remove from freezer and cook in boiling water.
Important Recipe Tips To Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls
- For the peanut filling, be sure to toast over low heat till fragrant. Grind the toasted peanut till very fine so it will stick together but not liquified. Adding oil helps the filling to firm up when chilled. Chill the peanut filling till firm enough to handle. This peanut filling can be made ahead of time.
- For the sweet ginger syrup, try to use old ginger to get a more gingery aroma. Be sure to pound the ginger to get the ginger juices released and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. To save time, ginger syrup can be made the night before serving.
- For the glutinous rice dough, the amount of water used can vary a little. It all depends on the humidity of the glutinous rice flour. Try to add water a little at a time. Knead till the dough does not stick to the bottom of the bowl. However if you find the dough is a bit dry, add a little more water. If the dough is a bit wet, then add a little more flour.
- To ensure a more chewy texture to the glutinous rice balls, use boiling water instead of room temperature water and try to knead for a longer time.
- Make sure the peanut filling is fully sealed with the glutinous rice dough. Otherwise the peanut filling may ooze out while cooking.
- When cooking the glutinous rice balls, cook in batches. Gently slide the balls into the boiling water. Initially the rice balls will sink. When the dough is cooked, the balls will float to the surface. Continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes to allow the inside to be fully cooked and become hot as well. Then immerse in a bowl of room temperature water till fully cooled. This gives the dough a more chewy texture and prevent the cooked rice balls from sticking together while you continue to cook the rest of the rice balls.
Here Are Some Tang Yuan Recipes (Glutinous Rice Balls) You May Like:
- Pumpkin Sago Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe 金瓜汤圆西米露食谱
- Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe (Tang Yuan) 黑芝麻汤圆食谱
- Taro, Purple Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe 芋头紫薯金瓜汤圆食谱
- Glutinous Sweet Rice Balls (Tang Yuan) in Osmanthus Ginger Syrup Recipe 桂花姜汁汤圆食谱
- Purple Sweet Potato Glutinous Rice Balls Recipe (Onde Onde) 紫薯汤圆椰丝球食谱
- Nyonya Onde Onde Recipe 椰丝球食谱
- Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls with Gingko Nuts Recipe (Tang Yuan) 杏仁糖汤圆食谱
Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Plain & Matcha Tang Yuan with Peanut Filling) 双色抹茶花生汤圆
Tap or Hover to Adjust Servings
Ingredients
Peanut Filling:
- 100 grams raw peanut, skinless
- 30 grams sugar
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- ¼ tsp salt
Sweet Ginger Syrup:
- 1 litre water
- 25 grams old ginger, skinned, smashed or sliced
- 80 grams rock sugar
- 2 pandan leaves, knotted
Plain Glutinous Rice Ball Dough:
- 100 grams glutinous rice flour, 80grams + 20grams
- 80 ml water, 60ml + 20ml
Matcha Glutinous Rice Ball Dough:
- 100 grams glutinous rice flour
- 20 grams icing sugar , sifted
- 80 ml hot water
- 1 tsp matcha powder, sifted
Have ready all ingredients needed to make the filling.
Toast the raw peanuts in a dry frying pan over low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes till peanuts are aromatic and turns golden brown in colour. Then remove and let cool.
Place cooled peanuts into a grinder and grind till the peanuts turn into a paste texture. Then add in sugar, cooking oil and a pinch of salt. Mix till well combined. Keep refrigerated till the filling is firm enough to handle.
Have ready all ingredients to make sweet ginger syrup.
First skinned old ginger and smashed into thick pieces to get the ginger juices released.
Add water into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil.
Add in rock sugar, smashed ginger and pandan knot. Bring to a boil again. Cover, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Then remove ginger and pandan knots from the sweet ginger syrup. Keep warm.
Have ready glutinous rice flour and water to make the glutinous rice dough.
In a medium size mixing bowl, add in 80g of the glutinous rice flour. Pour in 60ml of the water and mix to form a dough.
Pinch about 15g dough an cook it in boiling water till float. Combine cooked dough with raw dough. Mix till well blended.Add in the balance of 20g glutinous rice flour and 20ml water. Continue mixing till a smooth and non sticky dough is formed.
On a floured surface, roll the dough into a long cylinder. Cut and divide into 10 small pieces. Roll the small dough into balls and flatten each ball to form a round wrapper. Place peanut filling in the middle and pinch the dough together to seal completely. Then gently roll into round balls again. Repeat for the rest of the dough pieces. Cover the glutinous rice balls before cooking.- To make the matcha glutinous rice balls, have ready glutinous rice flour, icing sugar, matcha powder and water.
Mix well glutinous rice flour, icing sugar and matcha powder in a mixing bowl. Pour in boiling water and stir with a spatula and when it is not too hot, knead with your hand till you get a non-stick dough that is smooth and stretchy. (soft and pliable).
On a floured surface, roll into a log and cut into 10 smaller doughs. Roll each into a ball and flattened into a round wrapper. Fill in with peanut filling in the centre, pinch to secure completely and gently roll into round balls again. Repeat the same for the rest of the dough balls. And we are ready to cook the glutinous rice balls.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Gently drop in the glutinous rice balls. Push them around with the back of a cooking spoon to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
The glutinous rice balls are done when the skins turn almost translucent and start to float on the surface. At this moment, add in some room temperature water. Continue to cook till the glutinous rice balls rise to the surface again. This is to ensure the glutinous rice balls are cooked thoroughly. And we are done. Remove from stove.
Immerse the cooked glutinous rice balls into room temperature water till they are fully cooled. Then dish out into bowls and served with warm sweet ginger syrup.
Continue to cook the same for the matcha glutinous rice balls.
Dish out into bowls and serve warm with the warm and sweet ginger syrup. It is truly comforting and delectable. So Enjoy!
Glutinous rice balls can be stored by freezing them right after they are made. First line the bottom of an airtight container with cling wrap. Then carefully place the rice balls onto the container (not too close to one another). Close the lid and freeze until needed. When cooking frozen glutinous rice balls, do not defrost the rice balls. Follow the same cooking method.
Instructions
Make Peanut Filling:
Make Sweet Ginger Syrup:
Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (White dough):
Make Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (Matcha dough):
Cook Glutinous Rice Balls:
Store Glutinous Rice Balls:
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- Use old ginger instead of young ginger when boiling the syrup as old ginger gives a more gingery aroma.
- You can choose to add more ginger when boiling the ginger syrup if you prefer a stronger taste of ginger.
- Fresh pandan leaves/scew pine leaves are very fragrant and they bring out lovely flavour in the ginger syrup.
- Adding hot boiling water makes glutinous rice balls really nice and chewy.
- The amount of glutinous rice flour and water used is very forgiving. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water. If its too wet, add a bit more flour.
- The rice balls will become more chewy if kneaded for a longer time.
- Toasting the skinned peanut can also be done in the oven. Bake at 180C for about 15 minutes.
- You can substitute with butter, lard or coconut oil instead of cooking oil for the peanut filling.
- As making these glutinous rice balls take time, the syrup and tang yuan can be prepared the night before and cook the next morning.
- Make sure to cover the filling completely with the dough. Otherwise, the filling will ooze out when boiled.
