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Dec 21, 2008

'Tang Yuan'

Tāngyuán is a Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and is then cooked and served in boiling water. Tangyuan can be either filled or unfilled. It is traditionally eaten during Yuanxiao, or the Lantern Festival.
Historically, a number of different names were used to refer to the tangyuan. During the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty, the name was officially settled as yuanxiao, a name derived from the Yuanxiao festival, also known as the Lantern Festival. This name literally means "first evening", being the first full moon after Chinese New Year, which is always a new moon. This name prevails in northern China.

In southern China, however, the prevailing names are tangyuan or tangtuan. Legend has it that during Yuan Shikai's rule (1912-1916), Yuan disliked the name Yuanxiao because it sounded identical to "remove Yuan" (), and so mandated that the name Tangyuan be used instead. This name literally means "round balls in soup". Tangtuan similarly means "round dumplings in soup".

This celebration can be traced to the Chinese belief in yin and yang, which represent balance and harmony in life. It is believed that the yin qualities of darkness and cold are at their most powerful at this time, but it is also the turning point, giving way to the light and warmth of yang. For this reason, the Dong Zhi Festival is a time for optimism. Dong Zhi is celebrated in style. The longest night of the year is a time to put on brand new clothes, visit family with gifts and to laugh and drink deep into the long night.

In southern Vietnam, a similar dish, called chè xôi nước, is served in a mild, sweet liquid flavored with grated ginger root. In northern Vietnam, bánh trôi (also called bánh trôi nước) and bánh chay are also very similar, with the latter being served with coconut milk. Gulab jamun is an Indian dessert that is made of fried dairy dough balls served in a bowl of syrup.

-extracted from wikipedia-

Delicious 'tang yuan' made single handedly by my youngest sis
(I assumed she made them 2gather with my popo last night)
Anyway it's hand-made =D


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