Tang Yuan (汤圆) — Glutinous Rice Balls: Lantern Festival Tradition

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Tang yuan (汤圆, literally round soup — referring to the round shape and the soup in which they are served) are glutinous rice flour balls traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao Jie, 元宵节, the 15th day of the first lunar month) and at the Winter Solstice festival. They come in two main forms: filled tang yuan (with a sweet, semi-liquid filling of sesame paste, peanut paste, or red bean paste) and plain tang yuan (unfilled, smaller, eaten in a sweet ginger broth). The experience of eating a filled tang yuan — the smooth, slightly chewy glutinous exterior and the burst of warm, sweet, slightly oily filling — is one of the quintessential Chinese sweet food pleasures.

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