Some people like to make Yuanxiao or Tangyuan, eat fresh, and have more choices in the taste of stuffing. So, how is the Lantern Festival made? What's the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?
How is the Lantern Festival made?
The Lantern Festival comes out by "shaking". When making the Lantern Festival, you should first make the filling, cut it into small cubes, dip it in water, and shake it in a dustpan full of glutinous rice flour, then dip it in water, and continue rolling the glutinous rice flour, so many times, making it gradually round and bigger.
How is Tangyuan made?
Tangyuan is made by wrapping. Glutinous rice is filled with water and dough. It's like making dumplings, adding stuffing and kneading into a ball.
What's the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?
There is a saying in China that "North Lantern Festival, South Tangyuan". What's the difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan?
The difference between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan is that they are made by different techniques. Yuanxiao is made by shaking, while Tangyuan is made by wrapping.
They look different, too. After the Lantern Festival is finished, there will be a "hairy head" on the surface, that is, floating powder on the surface. When cooking in the pot, the flour will be mixed into the water, and the soup will be milky white. Yuanxiao expands rapidly after cooking, and its size is bigger than tangyuan. The dumpling skin is made of dry glutinous rice flour, water and dough, and then wrapped with stuffing. It has good cohesiveness, smoother surface, and clear boiling water.
In addition, from the taste point of view, Yuanxiao is more biting, with a prominent smell of glutinous rice noodles; Tangyuan is more tender, smooth and soft glutinous, with no obvious smell of glutinous rice.