Table of Contents
Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Rou Tang Yuan 肉汤圆} feature an extra soft water-milled sweet rice flour wrapper filled with deliciously juicy minced pork. They are one of the Huai Yang Cuisine‘s classics. People enjoy them as breakfast, snacks, or side dishes.
Sweet Rice Flour Fun Facts
Sweet Rice, sometimes referred to as sticky rice or glutinous rice, is a short-grain rice that is naturally & deliciously chewy. Despite the name, sweet rice is in fact gluten-free.
Sweet rice is very popular in China’s Yangtze River Delta, my hometown area. People make all kinds of sweet or savory versions of sweet rice flour featured dishes.
Red Bean Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Hong Dou Tang Yuan 红豆汤圆}, Brown Sugar Sweet Rice Flour Cake {Hong Tang Nian Gao 红糖年糕), Qing Tuan {Green Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings with Red Bean Paste 青团}, Red Bean Sweet Rice Flour Minis {Hong Dou Xiao Yuan Zi 红豆小圆子}, just to name a few.
What are the two types of Sweet Rice Flour and How are they used for?
When people mill sweet rice into flour in a regular fashion, they become Regular Sweet Rice Flour, or Nuo Mi Fen 糯米粉 in Chinese. Qing Tuan and Brown Sugar Sweet Rice Flour Cake {Hong Tang Nian Gao} are made from the Regular Sweet Rice Flour.
When people mill sweet rice into flour while having them submerged in the water, they become water-milled sweet rice flour or Shui Mo Fen 水磨粉 in Chinese. They are extra soft and smooth. The secrete behind the extremely soft and smooth Red Bean Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Hong Dou Tang Yuan 红豆汤圆} and Red Bean Sweet Rice Flour Minis {Hong Dou Xiao Yuan Zi 红豆小圆子}
How to make Sweet Rice Flour Wrapper for Tang Yuan?
Tang Yuan {汤圆}, loosely translates into Soup and Round, is made from Water-Milled Sweet Rice Flour. Because rice flour doesn’t contain gluten, therefore the dough is not stretchy and flexible at all compared to all-purpose flour. To shape Sweet Rice Flour Wrapper is almost like pottery.
Read here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to shape sweet rice flour wrappers.
How to Prepare a Delicious Minced Pork Filling for Dumplings?
Use home ground pork if possible
Home ground Pork, made from a combination of pork belly and pork shoulder or butt, is truly the secret behind super yummy pork fillings. Using a meat grinder to just chop the pork to pieces while still maintaining its meaty texture is essential to juicy tasty pork.
That’s exactly the reason people use a cleaver to chop the pork on a thick wood cutting board into minced pork during the old days in China. Luckily I can use a Stand Mixer meat grinder attachment to get the job done easily nowadays. Read here for more details.
Marinate the pork for delicious Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings
Shaoxing Wine, Soy Sauce, and Sweet Bean Paste, along with little delicious spices go a long way. Star anise, ginger, and coriander are no doubt are among the most delicious and healthiest spices.
Organic spices taste so much better with a stronger pleasant aroma. If the organic powdered form is not available, you can use a spice grinder to turn seeds into powder easily. That’s usually how I get my coriander powder.
How to Wrap Tang Yuan {Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings}
True, sweet rice flour wrappers re not as forgivable as all-purpose flour wrappers, due to the fact that they are gluten-free. However, it is still doable when you handle it with gentle but firm hands. By the way, it is very much like pottery.
Keeping your hands damp all the time while handling the sweet rice flour wrappers is essential. See here for a detailed and easy-to-follow tutorial to learn how to wrap sweet rice flour dumplings like a pro.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings the same way as Jiao Zi (Northern China dumplings)?
Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Tang Yuan 汤圆} are not as freezer-friendly as the regular all-purpose flour dumplings. That said, you can still use the same technique to freeze them and then use them within 3 months.
When freezing freshly wrapped dumplings, first lay individual dumplings flat on a board without overlapping and then put them into the freezer for 4 hours or more. Once they become stiff, you can then transfer them into a freezer ziplock bag or container.
How do I cook frozen Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Tang Yuan}?
Remove them from the freezer and leave them in the refrigerator overnight to thaw thoroughly before cooking. This differs from regular all-purpose flour dumplings, which do not require de-thaw.
How do I serve Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings {Rou Tang Yuan 肉汤圆}?
Use a ladle to scoop out dumplings along with the water and add them into a bowl. Keep sweet rice flour dumplings in the water will make sure they remain soft. They do not need any dipping sauce, simply enjoy a super soft, smooth dumpling with amazingly juicy & tasty pork fillings.
Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings Recipe
Pork sweet rice flour dumplings (Rou Tang Yuan 肉汤圆) feature an extra soft smoother water-milled sweet rice flour wrapper with super juicy & delicious pork fillings. They are one of the Huai Yang Cuisine's classics. People enjoy them as breakfast, snacks, or side dishes.
Ingredients
For Pork Filling:
- 2/3 lb ground pork, home ground preferred
- 4 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp natural soy sauce, or dark soy sauce
- 4 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Zhenjiang vinegar
- 2 tsp sweet fermented bean paste {Tian Mian Jiang}
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp arrowroot flour
- 1/4 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
- 1/4 tsp star anise powder
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds powder, freshly ground preferred
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 1 stalk of green onions, finely chopped
For Sweet Rice Flour Wrappers:
- 380 g water, room temperature, filtered or previously boiled, see notes
- 454 g water-milled sweet rice flour, 1 lb shui mo fen {水磨粉}
Instructions
- Prepare Pork Filling. Add everything under "For Pork Filling" in a mixing bowl, mix well together into pork filling. See tips & tricks on how to make tasty pork filling for dumplings & buns.
- Fill a large stockpot (8 Qt.) with 70% water, cover with a lid and bring it to a boil. This may take about 20 minutes.
- While waiting, prepare water-milled sweet rice flour dough and wrappers. See a detailed step-by-step tutorial on how to make sweet rice flour wrappers and how to wrap sweet rice flour dumplings.
- This recipe makes about 20 Tang Yuan. Divide the sweet rice flour dough into 20 equal portions, each weighing about 40 g. Each dumpling should use about 21 g pork filling. Use a kitchen scale to help gauge the portion. Shape and Wrap sweet rice flour dumplings one at a time.
- Place freshly wrapped dumplings on unbleached parchment paper and cover with a food film. Repeat until you have wrapped all Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings.
- Once the water is reaching a boil, add 10 Tang Yuan to the boiling water. The Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings will sink to the bottom of the pot. Use a stainless steel skimmer to gently scoop the dumplings off the bottom and make sure they are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil again.
- Once the water is boiling and almost rising to the top of the pot, add a cup of room temperature or cold water into the pot, gently stir the dumplings, cover with a lid and wait for it to reach a boil again.
- Repeat this another 4 times or until all dumplings are floating to the top of the water surface, showing they are fully cooked
- Serve immediately using a ladle, add dumplings along with the water in the pot into a bowl.
- Repeat for cooking the remaining 10 Rou Tang Yuan. Enjoy a satisfyingly delicious Rou Tang Yuan {肉汤圆 Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings}.
Notes
- This recipe makes about 20 sweet rice flour dumplings. The pork and sweet rice flour should pair nicely. To make it easier, divide the sweet rice flour dough into 20 equal portions, each weighing about 40 g. Each Tang Yuan should use about 21 g pork filling. Use a kitchen scale to measure 21 g pork filling initially so that you can gauge what a 21 g pork filling portion size should look like. Use this to guide how much pork filling to use during the wrapping process.
Recommended Products
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-
Bamboo Spoons & Spatula - Solid Stainless Steel Spider Strainer Skimmer
- KitchenAid Classic Soup Ladle, One Size, Black 2
- 8-Q Stockpot, Tramontina Stainless Steel Induction-Ready Tri-Ply Clad
- Organic Ground Ginger
- Organic Coriander Seeds
- Organic Cane Sugar
- Organic Anise Seed
- Shinho Sweet Bean Paste / Tian Mian Jiang (6.3oz)
- Arrowroot Flour
- Zhenjiang Vinegar
- Light Soy Sauce
- Wan Ja Shan Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce (2 Pack, Total of 33.8fl.oz)
- Shaoxing Wine
- Water-Milled Sweet Rice Flour
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 709Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 71mgSodium: 1056mgCarbohydrates: 105gFiber: 8gSugar: 51gProtein: 32g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.
