What is yuan xiao

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We call these balls Yuan Xiao or Tang Yuan. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. Made of sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing and round in shape, it symbolizes family unity, completeness and happiness.

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuan Xiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts, sesame, osmanthus flowers, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste. The full moon occurs on the 15th of a lunar month, and the first full moon of a lunar year is the 15th of first lunar month, which is Yuan Xiao Jie. The words "Yuan Xiao" mean "first night", or the first night of the year that the moon is full.

What is that call? It is a rice dumpling ball which has a sweet filling covered by sweet rice flour dough, and served in a clear broth. Just like many other Chinese dishes, even Chinese people ourselves have a hard time to name it right. So, what is the difference? According to some Northerners I know, here is how you can tell: The main difference between Tang Yuan and Yuan Xiao is the way it is made.

For Tang Yuan, you will knead the sweet rice dough and manage to wrap the filling in it. Yuan Xiao, however, is very different. It has a sweet solid filling and is made by shaking in flour, dipping wet in water and repeating the steps until the wrapping is thick enough. You can imagine that the texture is very different and it can only work with few filling that are hard enough. Time to make the black sesame dumplings. First, we need to make the filling.

It is much easier if you can get some pre-made filling such as black sesame paste or red bean paste from an Asian traditional market.