Yuanxiao from the Ming Dynasty

Like a Chinese Game of Thrones, the story behind the writing of today's recipe for Yuanxiao (Tangyuan) is worthy of being made into an HBO series all its own.

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DISH NAME
ORIGINAL 1620s RECIPE (From Zhuo Zhong Zhi)
“The cooking method uses glutinous rice that has been ground into a fine powder. The filling comprises the flesh of walnuts and white sugar. Water is sprinkled on the filling and the balls are rolled around in flour to form them. They are as big as walnuts. This is the same as what the people of the Jiangnan region call Tangyuan. ”

MODERN RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
-1 1/4 Cups (140g) Walnuts
- ½ Cup (100g) Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons (57g) Melted Lard or Melted Butter
- 4 Cups (450g) Glutinous Rice Flour
- Water

METHOD
1. Toast the walnuts (optional) in a pan over medium heat and let them cool. Then crush them fine, almost to a powder.
2. Mix the crushed walnuts, sugar, and lard/butter and mix until combined. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour or until it is cool.
3. Take the mixture and form it into small balls; about a dozen.
4. Take two large bowls, one filled with water and one with glutinous rice flour. Roll the balls in the glutinous rice flour until covered, then place them in a mesh sieve and dip them in the water. (You can also set them in the water and remove them with a slotted spoon). Then return them to the flour and roll again. Repeat this process 7-10 times, or until no filling can be seen.
5. Boil a large pot of water. Set the balls in the water and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Note that the balls will expand, so leave plenty of room in the pot. Once the balls have floated to the top, pour a cup of cold water into the pot. This will stop the boiling and allow a skin to form on the balls. Allow the water to reheat to boiling and wait until the balls float again. Then remove and serve immediately.

PHOTO CREDITS
MUSIC CREDITS
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

#tastinghistory #yuanxiao #tangyuan

[Jaburesu]

A recipe to make balls and a story about eunuchs. The jokes write themselves.

[TastingHistory]

This is the most complex history I’ve covered. Were you able to follow along? Suggestions on making it clearer?

[wkang]

As a native Mandarin speaker, I always appreciate it when non-Mandarin speaking creators put in the effort to pronounce Chinese words in a video. Lots of love from Singapore!

[harvestmoon_autumnsky]

This is a less a YouTube channel and more a TV show. It's quality.

[Scipio_ZA]

Just a word of caution for novices: there is a difference between rice flour and glutinous rice flour. If you buy the "normal" flour from the health shop, be prepared to watch in sadness as your walnut balls are coated in a depressing rice gloop, not at all sticky.

[NicolasGarciaLieberman]

"IMMORTAL EUNUCH, A NEW FRAGRANCE BY CALVIN KLEIN"

I died

[communismwithgiggles]

"Most of the recipe is kid-friendly."
Jokes on you Max, in the eyes of Chinese parents, every recipe is kid-friendly.

[citizencalmar]

I've read that one of the reasons eunuchs were so valued and so trusted is that it was believed they wouldn't try to take power for themselves, since their inability to father children meant they wouldn't try to establish their own dynasty. I always thought, "Okay, but what if they don't care about establishing a dynasty and just want to have power for its own sake?" I think Wei Zhongxian has just proved my point.

[albertwong]

As a Chinese, your pronunciation is one of the most accurate one among the Westerner! Oh ya, about the Yuanxiao, there's a salty version and a sweet version of it, different parts of people in China had their preference over the taste of Yuanxiao. As for the soup of the Yuanxiao, since it's being served during the annual Dongzhi Festival also known as the Winter Solstice Festival, we will prepare the soup using sugar (I would prefer brown sugar) and most importantly the ginger, just boil the water and add the sugar and ginger in. Usually we'll prepare the Yuanxiao and the soup separately. There's also different version of it in Malaysia and Singapore, we will add water straight into the glutinous power and make it into a dough and the whole family would sit down together to wrap the sugar and the glutinous dough into a ball and put it into a boiled water to boil it. There's also a fried version of it as well. There's lots of different version of it that even a Chinese can list it out, so happy trying!

[madisonhasson]

As I was making this my youngest son saw me dipping and coating the filling. He requested to take over and finished the job for me! Definitely something kids will enjoy helping with!
When we sampled one, he said, "We need to make this a lot more. It's a lot easier than regular mochi!"

[Sky-buyu]

Oh my gosh, as a Chinese American your pronunciation is better than some of my relatives, lol

[OneAraiz]

The pronunciation practice really shows!

[hilotakenaka]

A fun drinking game with friends:
Read through the Wikipedia pages of ancient China
Take a shot whenever the country is fractured

[MsSteelphoenix]

I really really appreciate that you make an effort to pronounce everything correctly in all of your videos, despite the wildly different cultures (Aztec, Ancient Greek, Babylonian, Ming China....) and languages.

[HaveANiceDayDude]

This was a great episode... like what history channel used to be. You could have had a cooking show in the 90s, and I mean that in the best way. Relaxed tempo, very interesting information, good personality. Great work man

[anonymousunnamed]

I'm so happy that you're going around the world with your culinary stories & recipes and not just sticking to European cuisine. There are so many wonderful historical dishes all around the world. I love Asian foods & history in particular, so I really enjoyed this video! Thanks again for another wonderful lesson!

[felisd]

Advice for Westerners wanting to try these: Chinese people typically eat these with a soup spoon (like the traditional porcelain type, but a regular metal spoon works too).

[oliviagunn]

Every intro is becoming increasingly dramatic, and it’s wonderful

[jaynejames]

Max, the effort that you put in to respecting the language means so much! It shows your respect for the cultures and people! Thank you!

[scottk]

"this guy had something most eunuchs didn't have..."
"Testicles!"
"No, what?"
"Literacy!"
"Yes, literacy... Please wait for me to call on you next time."