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Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}

by Shirley
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Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}

Qing Tuan {青团} is a steamed green sweet rice flour dumpling with red bean paste. They are classic Huai Yang style pastry, which is also one of the must-have items for Qing Ming festival {清明节}. Easy authentic Qing Tuan features a super soft and green sweet rice flour wrapper filled with homemade healthy yummy sweet red bean paste. Enjoy this tasty and healthy Qing Tuan for breakfast or a snack.

Water-Milled and Regular Sweet Rice Flour Blend for Qing Tuan

I use a blend of water milled and regular sweet rice flour mixture for an extremely soft and satisfactory glutinous sweet rice flour wrapper. Red Bean Mochi Soup, Pork Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings, or Red Bean Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings all use water-milled sweet rice flour {Shui Mo Fen 水磨粉} for the extra smoothness. The popular Brown Sugar Rice Cake uses regular sweet rice flour {Nuo Mi Fen 糯米粉}

Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}
Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}

Where does Qing Tuan’s green color come from?

Traditionally the green color comes from wormwood or certain type of shrubs’ leaves. People also use green leafy vegetables such as spinach or dandelion to extract the green juice.

I, however, found using organic chlorella powder is easier and effective.

Organic Chlorella Powder for Qing Tuan
Organic Chlorella Powder for Qing Tuan

Chlorella powder is a type of algae that has a beautiful saturated green color. They are super-rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. People also believe it does a wonderful job of detoxing and improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Making Qing Tuan using Chlorella as an all-natural organic green color is an excellent way to incorporate this superfood into our diet.

Qing Ming and Twenty-Four Seasons per the Chinese Lunar Calendar

Qing Ming Festival, also known as “Tomb Sweeping Day”, is a public holiday in China. It falls on “Qing Ming”, one of the twenty-four (24) seasons according to the Lunar Calendar.

The Lunar Calendar is based on the earth’s rotational position relative to the sun. Ancient Chinese divided the year into 24 intervals, or seasons starting with Li Chun {立春 or the onset of Spring}. Qing Ming {清明} is the fifth season out of the twenty-four. It typically occurs the first weekend in April, ranging from April 4th to April 6th.

In celebrating Qing Ming Festival, family members reunite and travel to their ancestors’ gravesites to pay respects. It is a tradition for the families to clean and sweep the tomb, burn the paper money, and also display bountiful of yummy food.

People widely consider Qing Ming the second most important holiday in China, right after Spring Festival or Chinese New Year.

Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}
Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}

Ingredients Required for Qing Tuan {青团}

Qing Tuan Ingredients
Qing Tuan Ingredients

You will need water-milled sweet rice flour, regular sweet rice flour, chlorella powder, arrowroot flour, avocado oil, and water to make the sweet rice flour green dough.

Red bean paste is for the filling. Homemade red bean paste is an excellent choice.

Arrowroot flour, as a nutritious, wholesome gluten-free starch, helps bind everything together and gives the final product a shiny glaze. As a result, no need to brush oil before steaming.

It is a tradition to use bamboo leaves for the Qing Tuan to sit on during the steaming. Bamboo leaves do a wonderful job to avoid Qing Tuan from being stuck on the steamer. Bamboo leaves also convey an extra refreshing and appetizing bamboo aroma.

How to Make Qing Tuan an easy, authentic way from scratch?

The First is to prep homemade red bean paste in advance

If you are using store bought red bean paste, go directly to next step.

For homemade from scratch red bean paste, read here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

homemade red bean paste
Homemade Red Bean Paste

The Second is to make the Green Dough

Add water-milled sweet rice flour, regular sweet rice flour, avocado oil, arrowroot flour, and chlorella powder into a mixing bowl.

Making green sweet rice flour dough
Making green sweet rice flour dough

Mix well and slowly add the water and knead until forming a soft dough.

Green Sweet Rice Flour Dough for Qing Tuan
Green Sweet Rice Flour Dough

The Third is to divide the dough and red bean paste

This recipe produces about 12 green sweet rice flour dumplings. If you are using the 12-inch bamboo steamer set, they come with double deck two steamers. One steamer can hold 8 dumplings comfortably, and you can steam them in one sitting.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions using a kitchen scale. Each portion is about 51 grams of dough. Roll and press each portion using two hands into a ball and lay aside and then cover them with a food film.

Divide the green dough into 13 portions
Divide the green dough into 13 portions

For the red bean paste, you can either scoop one tablespoon as you wrap, or you can also prepare 12 red bean paste mini balls in advance. This prep work helps streamline the wrapping process. It is especially helpful when the red bean paste gets hardened in the refrigerator.

Divide the red bean paste into 12 portions, each portion is about 20 grams. Remember to rub your palms with a bit of coconut oil and gently press each portion into a mini ball. Set aside.

How to roll red bean paste mini balls for easier dumpling wrapping?
How to roll red bean paste mini balls for easier dumpling wrapping?

The Fourth is to wrap Qing Tuan

Before we wrap, let’s get the steaming set ready for the steaming. Cut the large dried bamboo leave into small patches using a pair of kitchen scissors, each is to hold one Qing Tuan. Lay them flat in the base of the bamboo steamer.

Prep Steamer for steaming Qing Tuan
Prep Steamer for steaming Qing Tuan

Now we are ready to wrap Qing Tuan. This is the same technique for wrapping sweet rice flour dumplings. Read here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.

Wrap Qing Tuan Illustration Part 1
Wrap Qing Tuan Illustration Part 1

True, it is trickier to wrap sweet rice flour dumplings compared to all-purpose flour dumplings. Since sweet rice flour doesn’t contain gluten, the dough is not as easy to maneuver.

Three important tips and tricks to remember for wrapping sweet rice flour dumplings successfully.

Tip #1 – Make a very soft dough and cover the dough while you are working through things to avoid the dough getting dried out.

Tip #2 – Use a damp or slightly wet palm to roll and process sweet rice flour dough. Dab your fingers into a small bowl of water, and rub between palms. This way, you keep the dough soft and moist during the process, which makes an enormous difference.

Tip #3 – Be firm but very gentle toward the sweet rice flour dough.

Wrap Qing Tuan Illustration part 2
Wrap Qing Tuan Illustration part 2

Additional Tips for Homemade Green Glutinous Rice Flour Dumplings with Red Bean Paste

During the wrapping, set aside a small bowl of water. Use the water to damp your palms during the wrapping process.

Whenever you complete wrapping a sweet rice flour dumpling, dab your finger with water and then rub between palms to ensure you have a damp palm before you wrap the next dumpling.

Congratulations! You just learned how to wrap the classic and well-liked green sweet rice flour dumplings with red bean paste!

Freshly Wrapped Qing Tuan

Steam the Green Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings with Red Bean Paste

Steam the freshly wrapped Qing Tuan over boiling water for 10 minutes. Wait for 2 minutes and then remove from the steaming pot or wok.

Freshly Steamed Qing Tuan

Enjoy a super soft, delicious and healthy snack!

Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}
Freshly Steamed Qing Tuan

Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style} Recipe

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Qing Tuan {青团} is a steamed green sweet rice flour dumpling with red bean paste. They are classic Huai Yang style pastry, which is also one of the must-have items for Qing Ming festival {清明节}. 

Ingredients

  • 240 g red bean paste, about 2 cups, homemade preferably, see notes.

For the Dough:

  • 100 g water-milled sweet rice flour
  • 200 g sweet rice flour, regular
  • 25 g arrowroot flour, organic
  • 25 g avocado oil
  • 1 to 1 1/2 tsp chlorella powder, organic, see notes
  • 260 g room-temperature water

For Wrapping:

  • 1 cup of water, to keep hands & palms damp
  • 2 large dried bamboo leaves, cut into patches to use as coasters for freshly wrapped Qing Tuan

Instructions

Gather all ingredients:
Qing Tuan Ingredients

Prep homemade red bean paste in advance:

  1. If you are using store-bought red bean paste, go to the next step.
  2. For homemade from scratch red bean paste, read here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial
    homemade red bean paste

Make the Green Sweet Rice Flour Dough:

  1. Add water-milled sweet rice flour, regular sweet rice flour, avocado oil, arrowroot flour, and chlorella powder into a mixing bowl.
    Making green sweet rice flour dough
  2. Mix well and slowly add the water and knead until forming a soft dough.
    Green Sweet Rice Flour Dough for Qing Tuan


Prepare the Steamer:

  1. I use a 12-inch bamboo steamer with a 14-inch wok combo as the steaming set for steaming Qing Tuan.
  2. Add 6 cups of water into the wok, turn the heat to medium-high, add a lid to the wok and bring it to a boil, about 8 minutes. Turn it off when the water is done.
  3. Cut the large dried bamboo leaves into small patches using a pair of kitchen scissors, each is to hold one Qing Tuan. Lay them flat in the base of the bamboo steamer. 
    Prep Steamer for steaming Qing Tuan

Divide dough and red bean paste:

  1. Get the steaming set ready for the steaming.
  2. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions using a  kitchen scale. Each portion is about 51 grams of dough. Roll and press each portion using two hands into a ball and lay aside and then cover them with a food film.
    Divide the green dough into 13 portions
  3. For the red bean paste, you can either scoop one tablespoon as you wrap, or you can also prepare 12 red bean paste mini balls in advance. This prep work helps streamline the wrapping process. It is especially helpful when the red bean paste gets hardened in the refrigerator.
  4. Divide the red bean paste into 12 portions, each portion is about 20 grams. Remember to rub your palms with a bit of coconut oil and gently press each portion into a mini ball. Set aside.
    Press red bean paste mini-malls for easier sweet rice dumpling wrapping
    Red Bean Mini Balls for easier dumpling wrapping

Wrap Qing Tuan:

  1. it is the same technique for wrapping sweet rice flour dumplings. Read here for a detailed step-by-step tutorial.
  2. Qing Tuan is round. So instead of closing the wrapper into a pointy end, you make it a flat bottom.
    Wrap Qing Tuan
  3. Then flip it upside down, and use both hands to roll gently and make it tall and round.
    Wrap Qing Tuan
  4. Place the freshly wrapped Qing Tuan onto one of the bamboo leave patches in the bamboo steamer.
  5. Remember to dab your fingers into water and rub against the palms to make the palms damp before wrapping the next one.
  6. Repeat till you have wrapped all 13 Qing Tuan.
    Freshly Wrapped Qing Tuan

Steam the Qing Tuan:

  1. Bring the water in the steamer to reach a boil again.
  2. Stack two steamers together along with the bamboo lid. Sit them on the wok and steam for 10 minutes.
  3. Turn off the heat. Wait for 1-2 minutes before uncovering the lid and remove the bamboo steamer from the wok.
    Freshly Steamed Qing Tuan
  4. All done! Enjoy a super soft, delicious, and healthy snack!
    Qing Tuan {Easy Authentic Huai Yang Style}

Notes

  • For homemade red bean paste, read here for a detailed step-by-step guided recipe.
  • Use 1 1/2 tsp chlorella if you prefer a highly pigmented deep dark green color.
  • Tip #1 – Make a very soft dough and cover the dough while you are working through things to avoid the dough getting dried out.
  • Tip #2 – Use a damp or slightly wet palm to roll and process sweet rice flour dough. Dab your fingers into a small bowl of water, and rub between palms. This way, you keep the dough soft and moist during the process, which makes an enormous difference.
  • Tip #3 – Be firm but very gentle toward the sweet rice flour dough.

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 servings Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 378Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 0mgSodium 135mgCarbohydrates 74gFiber 4gSugar 25gProtein 7g

Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.

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