Chinese Lantern Festival
"Smoke everywhere, but fun, fun!" is how Doris Berge, a native of Taiwan, describes the Lantern Festival, or Tanyuan. As part of the Chinese New Year and taking place the 15th day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival's origins are wide and varied, but Berge tells a tale that ends in lanterns and firecrackers set alight to fool the Jade God into thinking the city of Chang An was burning.
Now, she says, "Tanyuan brings the whole family together to eat and pray for good fortune in the coming year; the word sound of 'yuan' means 'round and perfect' in Chinese." Children carry lanterns, parades ensue, firecrackers and costumed revelers fill the streets. As part of the tradition, sweet dumplings, also referred to as tanyuan, are served. The dumplings are simple, round and perfectly delicious.
Tanyuan (Sweet Dumplings)
Makes 12-24 dumplings
2-1/2 cups sticky rice flour (available at Asian markets)
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
1 can sweetened red bean or sesame paste (1 tablespoon-sized scoop to fill each dumpling)
Pour the sticky rice flour into a large bowl. Mix with hot water and stir well. Add the cold water and stir well. Roll the dough to form a log. Divide into 12-24 pieces (depending on how large you want them). Roll each piece into a ball, making an indentation in the middle. Place the filling in the indentation and then form a seal around it with the dough.
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan and then reduce the heat to medium. Add the tanyuan, stirring so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Dumplings are thoroughly cooked when they float to the top.
