Friday, December 07, 2007

Traditional Glutinous Rice Balls



22 December is associated with the winter solstice and glutinous rice ball. A day before the winter solstice, you will be able to spot some white and red (in fact, it looked like pink) dough in the wet market. That is used for making glutinous rice ball which is then cooked and served in sugar syrup (white or brown sugar). It can be served in soup – for a salty version. For a filled glutinous rice ball, mix some sesame or peanut powders with sugar and oil/water for the filling.

Here is the basic recipe for making the dough, it is real simple and fast. Get the little ones involved in the process, they will love it and make different colours and sizes (BIG and small) of glutinous rice balls.
For fun, I added basil seeds in the sugar syrup which is never present in the traditional version.

Preparation: 15 mins, Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients (serves 2)
Dough
° 100g glutinous rice flour
° 90-100ml water
° red food colouring

Syrup
° 500ml water
° 4 pandan leaves (screwpine), tied into a knot
° 1 slice ginger (optional)
° sugar to taste
° ½ -1 teaspoon basil seeds (optional), soaked and drained

° 750ml water, for cooking the glutinous rice balls

Method
1. To make syrup, add the water, pandan leaves, ginger and sugar to a pot. Bring to boil over medium heat and set aside.
2. To make dough, combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl. Mix well, knead into dough and divide into 2 equal portions. Add some red food colouring to one portion and knead well. Add some water if the dough is too dry or some flour if it is too watery. Divide the dough into smaller portions and shape it into a ball using your hand.
3. Bring 750ml of water to boil. Add in glutinous rice balls and return to boil. Remove water the glutinous rice balls with a slotted spoon as soon as they float to the surface. Transfer to the sugar syrup.
4. To serve, ladle the glutinous rice balls and syrup into individual serving bowls. Serve hot.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

these days is so convenient....juz buy off the shelf...infact i tend to eat more than home-make....hahaha!! SF

a veg*n @ Blog*Spot said...

Yes, SF.

You are right, i always have 1 pack of read-made from the Supermarket in the Refrigerator.

It would be fun to do with kids. My little guy did this in his class when he was in Child Care.

If i am free, going to put in Soon Kueh filling in the glutinous Rice Ball and make salty version.

:)

Anonymous said...

ah, it's the time of the year again.. on 22 Dec rite? Just to make sure.. hehe..

I still love those traditional handmade ones eventhough there are those big round ones with fillings readily available

Btw, how old is your son now? vegetarian since birth?

a veg*n @ Blog*Spot said...

Hi Veggie Bun,

My son is 12yrs old next year. He is a vegetarian by birth.

However, when he was in the Child Care, he followed the non-veg diet there for lunch. Other than that, he is a vegetarian.

Cheers,

Anonymous said...

oic. does vegetarianism affect his health or growth? I am wondering whether those stuff "busybodies" told me are true. Sorry for asking so many personal questions

a veg*n @ Blog*Spot said...

It is ok, no problem, Veggie Bun.

He is growing normally, right weight and height. Exercise regularly. Seldom fall sick and recover very fast (except initially at the childcare, he fell sick maybe one a month, just like any other kid that go childcare, virus spread easily due to close contact with other kids who were sick, they took turn!).

Brain wise - development OK :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing so much about your experience :)

ah, your MIL's herbal soup indeed sounded really sweet with rock sugar and red dates. Is it supposed to be dessert style soup?

Btw, why did you, sis and mom become vegetarian? Since you eat garlics & onions, it isn't for Buddhism rite? Your mom is a loving person to me because she loves animals. :) My mom dislike animals and even felt I should discard my rabbits!

Hehe.. he is really a big and heavy baby. So I am convinced that vegetarianism doesn't have any side effect. Next time someone gives me those "advice", I can cite you as an example. :D You know lah, there are many people who loves to boast how much their kids love meat. The parents think their kids are so intelligent to love meat. (Including my mom who always boasts that her children are not picky about food)

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