CHINESE DESSERTS: Stick rice balls, with various fillings, have special significance in Chinese culture, and are served on festive occasions. As being round--in complete circles--they signify family unity, happiness and joy on such occasions..

STICK RICE BALLS  IN GINGER SWEET SOUP 湯丸:

 

 

 

 

8 oz glutinous rice flour + 4 oz. plain rice flour

¾ cup cold water                                                        

½ cup boiling water

sesame-seeds filling:

    4 oz. black sesame seeds, toasted & grounded into powder            

    5 tbsp. smooth peanut butter

    7 tbsp. powder sugar                                               

ginger sweet soup:

    4-6 cups water                                                        

    8-10, or to taste, thinly sliced ginger

    cane sugar

 

 

 

Sift the flours together into a large bowl. Add boiling water and mix in well with the flour, using a pair of chopsticks. Add as much cold water as needed to make into soft pliable dough. Knead it until smooth. Divide dough into small pieces of desirable size..

 

Mix filling ingredients together and divide into portions to equal the number of dough pieces.

 

Make sweet soup by bringing water to a boil with the ginger. Cover pan and cook for 10 minutes, at medium heat, to extract taste from ginger. Add cane sugar to taste, stirring well to dissolve sugar while continuing with the cooking at low heat. Keep hot.

 

Flatten out each dough piece and add a portion of filling in the middle. Work with fingers to enclose the filling and roll between the palms into a ball. Repeat until all dough pieces are filled. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop dumplings into boiling water, boil for a few minutes, or until all dumplings are floating to the surface.

 

Serve 4 dumplings per serving in a bowl, top with hot sweet soup to serve.