Winter Solstice Festival (Dong Zhi ) and Tangyuan - Part 1

Winter Solstice Festival ( Dong Zhi ) is a major Chinese festival. It falls on Dec. 22 of Gregorian calendar, marking the start of the first of the 24 seasonal division points.

During my childhood, my grandparents used to tell us: Dong Zhi falls on three days before Christmas Day. That teaching has since been engraved in my memory.

Dong Zhi goes with eating tangyuan , according to the tradition. Tangyuan are ball-shaped dumplings made of glutinous flour served in a variety of ways to suit different tastes. There are now creative recipes available to make tangyuan a lot more interesting.

That day I had a sudden craving for tangyuan, probably knowing that Dong Zhi is just not too far away. Yian, with little hesitation, set her hands to the task and came out with the delicacy for the family.

This recipe has been handed down from the past and is rather simple. The dumplings , after being boiled to perfection , are covered with soya bean flour, crushed-up peanut and sugar. They are best taken steamy hot when the aroma is so very enticing.

The picture shows the mouth-watering tangyuan.