Elevate your dessert game with Crystal Tang Yuan, where the art of creating transparent, tender dumplings meets the sweet potato fillings. My recipe will walk you through every step to ensure your tang yuan are a perfect blend of texture and taste.
What Is Crystal Tang Yuan
Crystal Tang Yuan is a type of glutinous rice dumpling known for its translucent appearance and delicate, chewy texture, achieved by using tapioca starch instead of traditional glutinous rice flour. This gives the dumplings a smooth, tender consistency, making them visually appealing and enjoyable to eat.
Typically filled with sweet bean pastes, ground peanuts, or mashed sweet potatoes, these dumplings are boiled until they float, signaling they are ready.
Often enjoyed during the Lantern Festival and Winter Solstice Festival, Crystal Tang Yuan symbolizes reunion and togetherness, served in their cooking water, a sweet syrup, or a ginger-infused broth.
A little more about this recipe
Unlike traditional tang yuan, such as black sesame tang yuan, which uses room temperature water to knead the dough, I used boiling water to make the dough. I added only 10g of sugar to the filling because the purple sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, but you can adjust the amount of sugar to your taste.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 200g purple sweet potato
- 10g white sugar
For the dough:
- 120g tapioca starch
- 70g boiling water
Instructions:
Prepare the Filling:
- Wash and peel 100g of purple sweet potato.
- Cut the sweet potato into thick slices.
- Place the slices in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes until soft.
- Transfer the steamed sweet potato to a bowl, discarding any water that may have come out during steaming.
- Add 10g of white sugar to the sweet potato.
- Mash the sweet potato and sugar mixture into a smooth paste.
- Shape the paste into small balls, each weighing about 10g. Set aside.
Prepare the Dough:
- In a bowl, add 120g of tapioca starch.
- Slowly add 70g of boiling water to the starch, a little at a time, while stirring continuously with chopsticks.
- Continue adding the water in small amounts and stirring until the mixture forms a cohesive dough.
- Put on gloves and knead the dough in the bowl until it starts to come together.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Roll the dough into a long strip.
- Cut the strip into 15g pieces.
- Flatten each piece into a thin sheet using your hands or a rolling pin.
Assemble the Tang Yuan:
- Place a ball of purple sweet potato filling onto the center of each dough sheet.
- Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal it.
- Roll the filled tang yuan gently to smooth out the surface. You can dust them with some dry tapioca starch to prevent sticking.
Cook the Tang Yuan:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add the tang yuan to the boiling water one by one.
- Cook until all the tang yuan float to the surface.
- Continue cooking for an additional minute.
- Remove the tang yuan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.
Serve:
- Serve the crystal tang yuan warm or at room temperature, optionally with a sweet syrup or ginger soup.
Here are some tips for successfully making Crystal Tang Yuan:
Use Boiling Water for Dough: Using boiling water instead of room temperature water helps achieve a smoother, more pliable dough. Add the boiling water gradually to the tapioca starch, stirring continuously to prevent lumps.
Knead Well: Ensure you knead the dough thoroughly until it is smooth and elastic. This step is crucial for achieving the right texture and preventing the dough from cracking during cooking.
Balance Water to Starch Ratio: The ratio of water to tapioca starch must be just right. Too much water will make the dough too soft and difficult to shape, while too little water will make it too hard, affecting texture and translucency. Different brands of tapioca starch may have varying water absorption rates, so adjust the amount of water as needed to achieve the right consistency.
Crystal Tang Yuan with Purple Sweet Potato Filling
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 200 g purple sweet potato
- 10 g white sugar
For the dough:
- 120 g tapioca starch
- 70 g boiling water
Instructions
Prepare the Filling:
- Wash and peel 100g of purple sweet potato.
- Cut the sweet potato into thick slices.
- Place the slices in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes until soft.
- Transfer the steamed sweet potato to a bowl, discarding any water that may have come out during steaming.
- Add 10g of white sugar to the sweet potato.
- Mash the sweet potato and sugar mixture into a smooth paste.
- Shape the paste into small balls, each weighing about 10g. Set aside.
Prepare the Dough:
- In a bowl, add 120g of tapioca starch.
- Slowly add 70g of boiling water to the starch, a little at a time, while stirring continuously with chopsticks.
- Continue adding the water in small amounts and stirring until the mixture forms a cohesive dough.
- Put on gloves and knead the dough in the bowl until it starts to come together.
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and knead until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Roll the dough into a long strip.
- Cut the strip into 15g pieces.
- Flatten each piece into a thin sheet using your hands or a rolling pin.
Assemble the Tang Yuan:
- Place a ball of purple sweet potato filling onto the center of each dough sheet.
- Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal it.
- Roll the filled tang yuan gently to smooth out the surface.You can dust them with some dry tapioca starch to prevent sticking.
Cook the Tang Yuan:
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.
- Add the tang yuan to the boiling water one by one.
- Cook until all the tang yuan float to the surface.
- Continue cooking for an additional minute.
- Remove the tang yuan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.
Serve:
- Serve the crystal tang yuan warm or at room temperature, optionally with a sweet syrup or ginger soup.
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