湯圓 / 汤圆
tāng yuán
“soup round”
The 15th day of the first lunar month is celebrated to mark the appearance of the first full moon of the new lunar year.
The full moon theme is expressed through round lanterns being put up (usually in the streets or outside shops, not so much in private homes), as well as the sweet round dumplings eaten on that day, called 湯圓 / 汤圆 / tāng yuán.
They are made with glutinous rice for the skin, and for the filling, originally (when the tradition first started in the Song dynasty / 宋朝 Sòng cháo, 960–1279) black sesame seeds and white sugar, later ground-up roasted peanuts as well, with lard to hold it all together.
I was first taught how to make it in Taiwan when I was working there. Got back to Singapore and thought I could have a go. What could be so difficult about mixing up a glutinous rice dough, taking a lump, rolling it into a ball, flattening it, putting a dollop of the filling on it, then closing it up?
Well, that was how I was taught it in Taiwan. Being so rubbish at cooking, to have been taught how to cook a dish is one thing, producing something that’s actually edible is another matter.
I went through the whole process enthusiastically, eagerly looking forward to my first bowl of 湯圓 / 汤圆 / tāng yuán made by my own fair hands.
Boiled up a pot of water. Put the dumplings in.
The dumpling skins opened up (I’d obviously not closed the balls properly), spilling out the filling, so that I ended up with a pot of pieces of glutinous rice dough, and lumps of sesame seeds, sugar and ground-up roasted peanuts, all floating together in a soupy mélange.
It took me days to finish that sweet lumpy soup. Yes, by myself. No one in the family would go anywhere near it.
(Singapore, 1977)
This blog post is a delightful and personal reflection on the tradition of eating *tāng yuán* during the Lantern Festival. The writer, a Singapore-born woman now living in London, offers a warm and humorous account of her experience attempting to recreate the dish after learning to make it in Taiwan.
ReplyDeleteThe post begins with a cultural explanation of the festival and its symbolic connection to roundness—both in the lanterns and the dumplings. The historical context, tracing *tāng yuán* back to the Song dynasty, adds an informative touch, grounding the dish in tradition. However, the real charm of the piece lies in the personal anecdote that follows.
Her storytelling is engaging, self-deprecating, and humorous. She takes the reader through her ambitious attempt to replicate the dish, only to end up with an unintended *soup* of floating dumpling remnants. The casual, conversational tone makes her struggle relatable—many readers will recognize the gap between learning a recipe and executing it successfully.
The humor peaks when she describes how her family refused to eat her culinary misadventure, leaving her to finish it alone. This adds a lighthearted and endearing conclusion to the post, emphasizing perseverance and the sometimes-humbling reality of home cooking.
Overall, this blog captures both cultural heritage and personal experience in a way that is both informative and entertaining. It balances historical detail with personal storytelling, making it an engaging read for anyone interested in food, tradition, or the occasional kitchen disaster.
Thank you for these complimentary comments. I'm so glad you'd found this blog fun and entertaining, shared by me when I was drafting it.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you've picked out the "self-deprecating" bit, because that's the spirit with which this blog (as well as a lot of my other blogs involving myself) was written -- a bit of self-mockery, laughing at myself, and giving the reader a laugh as well (at me and my disastrous efforts at cooking).