Happy Winter Solstice!
Tang yuan (glutinous rice ball) in sweet peanut soup for the Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi).
Happy Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi ε¬θ³), marked the traditional way with tang yuan. π‘π
What we had:
- Tang yuan (glutinous rice ball) in sweet peanut soup
Dong Zhi is the festival of the yearβs longest night, and in Chinese tradition it is a time for family to gather over a bowl of tang yuan, the round shape standing for togetherness and reunion. Even in tropical Singapore where there is no real winter, the ritual carries on.
This bowl came as a single pink tang yuan bobbing in a warm, sweet peanut soup. The soup was the lovely part, soft-cooked whole peanuts simmered until they almost melt, in a milky, nutty, gently sweet broth. The tang yuan itself had that soft, chewy, mochi-like glutinous-rice bite, sliding through the peanut soup.
It is a small, quiet sort of celebration, nothing like the noise of Chinese New Year, but there is something comforting about keeping the tradition: a warm bowl, a round dumpling, family around the table as the year winds down towards its close.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. πππΌ A soft, chewy tang yuan in warm, nutty peanut soup, a comforting way to mark Dong Zhi. Always a treat.
