Chinese New Year dessert: Glutinous rice balls in Osmanthus sweet fermented wine (桂花酒酿圆子）

I am very excited to be holding my first Chinese New Year cookie baking class this coming Sunday 18 January. It's a fully hands-on class for the all-time favourite Pineapple tarts and Osmanthus cookies. Do come and join us if you enjoy baking and meeting new friends with similar interest.

Last week, I checked out the new mall, Big Box at Jurong East with my mum. Had thought the new mall would be crowded and wanted to wait a while but was informed by a friend who went that the place is surprisingly not crowded. There's a link to Big Box via Jem (next to Marks & Spencer). The place is an interesting concept, many different shops/brands under the umbrella of Big Box so it feels like just one big department store. The place is divided into various sections such electrical/home furniture/decoration/clothes. There's also a big supermarket on the first floor that reminds me of those in Malaysia and Thailand. There is a cafe on level 2 that tried to imitate Ikea's cafe. I tried the waffles after lunch as it was priced at $2 but the picture was misleading. The picture showed the waffles with ice-cream and indicated the price at $2 but in the end I had to pay another $1.50 for the scoop of ice-cream and I gave the feedback to the waitress.

I like shopping in the supermarket as there are brands and items not commonly found in the neighbourhood supermarkets. I came across the sweet fermented wine (甜酒酿) and immediately got a bottle to make my favourite Shanghainese dessert (桂花酒酿圆子). It is not easy to get the sweet fermented wine here in Singapore, the only other place that sells it is Yue Hwa department store in Chinatown. I fell in love with this dessert about 10 years back when Crystal Jade Shanghai introduced it in their restaurants. I never thought of making my own till I was working in Shanghai 4 years back as the sweet fermented wine and Osmanthus syrup are readily available in most supermarkets there. It was only in the recent 2 years that I see both items in Singapore.

Most of us in Singapore usually eat the glutinous rice balls or tangyuan (汤圆）during the Winter Solstice in December. Did you know that Tangyuan is also know as YuanXiao in some parts of China and is also commonly consumed during the 15th day of the Chinese New Year? 

Glutinous rice balls in Osmanthus sweet fermented wine (serves 2)

50g glutinous rice flour

3.5 tbsp water

1 cup water

150ml sweet fermented wine

a small piece of rock sugar or honey

1 tsp osmanthus flowers/osmanthus syrup

1) Mix the glutinous rice flour with 3 tbsp of water and knead to form a dough. Slowly add in the last 1/2 tbsp if needed to have a non-sticky dough

2) Roll into small balls and set aside on a plate. Boil some water and put in the balls to cook. Once the balls starts to float, it's cooked.

3) Dish out the cooked rice balls and soak them in cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other.

4) Bring 1 cup water, Osmanthus, sweet fermented wine and rock sugar to a boil. Do not use a metal pot for this as it contains alcohol. Once the rock sugar dissolves, you can switch off the fire.
5)Ladle into a bowl and put in the cooked rice balls to serve.

The eating of glutinous rice balls symbolises family reunion. May you have a good family reunion this Chinese New Year.

I am submitting this post to "My Treasured Recipes #5 - Chinese New Year Goodies (Jan/Feb)" hosted my Miss B of Everyone Eats Well in Flanders and co-hosted by Charmaine of Mimi Bakery House