Tangyuan
A weeknight-friendly Chinese dessert built around glutinous rice flour, warm water and black sesame seeds — roughly 55 minutes start to finish, and rated easy to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for pan and large pot. At easy difficulty across 6 steps, it's a good one for a busy evening. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (1)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, then grind them with the caster sugar to a coarse powder and mix in the softened butter to form a paste; chill until firm and roll into 16 small balls.
- Gradually stir the warm water into the glutinous rice flour and knead into a smooth, soft, non-sticky dough, then cover and rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces, flatten each into a disc, place a sesame ball in the centre, gather the edges up to enclose it fully and roll gently into a smooth round.
- Make a light syrup by simmering the broth water with the rock sugar and ginger slices for 5 minutes.
- Bring a separate pot of water to a gentle boil, slide in the tangyuan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until they all float and turn translucent and chewy.
- Lift the balls into bowls of the warm ginger syrup and serve immediately while soft and warm.
You'll use: Pan · Large pot · Saucepan
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (¾ the amount) · coconut oil · margarine
What to serve with Tangyuan
- Kung Pao Chicken Chicken
- Kung Po Prawns Seafood
- Ma Po Tofu Beef
- Wontons Pork
Tips & common questions
How long does Tangyuan take to make?
About 55 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 6 steps and 8 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (¾ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Tangyuan vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Tangyuan is an original Chinese recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Intersection of Tangyuan, Aug 2018.jpg by 颜邯, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.