By Ellen L. Published: 2017-02-24
The end of the Chinese New Year period of festivities is marked by the Lantern Festival 元宵節, a sort of Chinese Valentine's Day. Lovely glowing lanterns are hung everywhere from rafters and eaves. Riddles are carefully composed, gracefully written out with brush and ink, hung alongside the lanterns and then the game is on to guess the answers to the riddles.
Traditionally this night is for young men and women to stroll about attired in their best, admiring both the lanterns and potential lovers. And then if the heavens are aligned, love will blossom. Or will it?
Whether loves blossoms or no, the southern Chinese have developed a subtle food based (naturally!) method of letting lovers know if their love is reciprocated. To give the nod to love just serve up a bowl of delicious Sticky Rice Balls with Sesame and Crushed Peanuts, or 糖不甩, which is the deliciously sweet and sticky Chinese way to say yes to love!
It's so easy to make these sticky rice balls! Basically they are just tong yuan without the inside filling. So just mix up your glutinous rice flour with water into a nice smooth dough and then roll up into small bite size balls. Don't buy rice flour by mistake, you must use glutinous rice flour!
Simmer your sticky rice balls in boiling water til they rise to the top.
Prepare your topping. Traditionally it is just crushed roasted peanuts, but we got a bit fancy here and added sesame and shredded dried coconut...yummy!
Your sticky rice balls get cloaked in a thick, aromatic ginger infused sugar syrup. Chinese slab sugar, or 片糖, is a very unprocessed cane sugar product that should be used here for the most flavor and taste and shiny gloss.
And that's it! Deliciously gooey sticky rice balls swimming in a gingery sweet syrup, then smouldered with roasty, crunchy bits of nutty goodness. This little sweet treat is so good and so easy peasy!
And, dear potential lover, now to decide, to love or not to love? If you're IN the mood for love, place a luscious plate of Sticky Rice Balls with Sesame & Crushed Peanuts and you and your lover will stick together like two sticky rice balls and enjoy a fabulous love.
On the flip side, if you're NOT in the mood, find out how to say no to love in our upcoming post Beancurd Sheet Gingko Nut Sweet Soup.
Sticky Rice Balls w/ Sesame & Crushed Peanuts
糖不甩
Prep time: Cook time:
Prep time: Cook time:
Ingredients:
Sticky Rice Balls
- 2 cup glutinous rice flour, 260g
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 2/3 to 1 cup warm water
Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 slab chinese slab sugar, 片糖
- 4 slices ginger
Topping
- 2/3 cup crushed peanuts, 85g
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 40g
- 1/2 cup dried shredded coconut, 30g
Directions:
Roast peanuts and sesame in heavy bottom pan over low heat til aromatic. Crush the peanuts roughly if not crushed already, using food processor, or your chopping knife. Mix crushed peanuts, sesame, and coconut together.
Mix rice flour and sugar together, then add water until dough does not stick to sides of the bowl. Knead until smooth. Roll into 3/4" balls and place in rice flour dusted plate.
Heat medium pot of water until boiling, then drop in the rice balls, not overcrowding, and cook over medium heat until the balls float to surface. Scoop out and place in a bowl of cool water.
Make the syrup by simmering water, sugar and ginger over low heat until sugar is dissolved and the syrup become thick and glossy.
Pile rice balls on to your serving plate, drizzle with sugar syrup and sprinkle generously with topping. Serve (to favored love interests only...wink, wink!) with chopsticks or toothpicks for picking up the sticky rice balls.
Sticky Lickity Sweets at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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