Ginger and Brown Sugar Glutinous Rice Balls

One of the most popular articles on Eat. Travel. Eat! is a recipe on a glutinous rice ball dessert. Prepared as is, that recipe is tasty; however, some may note the lack of freshly made glutinous rice balls as a cheat.

So, during Chinese New Year, my companions and I sought to make fresh glutinous rice balls for dessert, and the results were definitely more astounding compared to our previous renditions.

Not only was it comforting to know that we controlled the ingredients used in the dish, but also the taste was superior. Stuffed with a brown sugar candy piece, the rice balls were chewy on the outside, while slightly crunchy and smooth on the inside as remnants of the candy piece stayed solid while the rest of the sugar melted and stayed encapsulated by the chewy exterior. These rice balls were so fun and so easy to make!

Four inexpensive ingredients-- Chinese brown sugar, glutinous rice flour, ginger, and water-- for one delicious dessert. And it is so easy, one can easily make adjustments in the ingredients to make a myriad of other desserts. (now that is for another article)

Enjoy!

(recipe after the jump)




Ginger and Brown Sugar Glutinous Rice Balls
Serves four, makes approximately 20 one-inch rice balls

Ingredients:
For rice balls:
8 ounces glutinous rice flour (this is the brand I use, available for less than a dollar in Asian supermarkets)
1/2 cup water (for dough)
1 bar of Chinese brown sugar (refer to this picture to see how it looks)

For soup base: 
Several slices of ginger
4 cups water (for boiling) 

Directions:

(dough, at step 2)

1. Place the glutinous rice flour into a bowl, and slowly add the water and mix the flour and the water until a ball is formed. The resulting dough ball should be silky and smooth on the surface. 
2. Flatten the dough and cut into smaller, ping pong sized pieces. Roll each piece into balls.
3. Cut the brown sugar candy bar into halves, then cut one half of the candy bar into small pieces (approximately 3-5 millimeters on a side).

 (steps 2-4 in a picture)

4. Flatten a piece of the dough and place a piece of the brown sugar into the middle. Then, curve the sides of the dough upward and roll the dough and sugar piece together gently in your palms until a ball is formed. If the sugar piece is poking out of the dough, push the piece inward and continue to roll the ball until the sugar piece is not visible at the exterior of the ball.

5. Boil water in a pot to cook the rice balls, and drop the ginger and the other half of the candy bar into the pot. Then, add the rice balls and cook on medium high heat until the rice balls are floating.

6. After the rice balls are floating, reduce the heat to about medium to medium low heat and continue cooking for another three to five minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the rice balls sit for another three minutes before serving.

7. Serve immediately and enjoy!