酒酿圆子酒釀圓子
jiǔ niàng yuán zi zau2 joeng6 jyun4 zi2
On the fifteenth night of the first lunar month, families in the Jiangnan region warm up with a bowl of tiny unfilled rice balls floating in fragrant sweet rice wine — round little dots that echo the festival's wish for reunion and wholeness under the year's first full moon.
The story behind it
Jiuniang (酒酿), also called laozao, is glutinous rice fermented with a starter (jiuqu) until it turns sweet, faintly alcoholic, and aromatic — a home staple across the lower Yangtze and Shanghai for centuries. Unlike the larger filled tangyuan, the yuanzi here are pea-sized and plain, prized for their soft chew against the mellow wine broth. The dish is eaten year-round in the south as a warming sweet soup, but it takes pride of place at the Lantern Festival, where round foods stand for tuanyuan (團圓), family togetherness. A beaten egg drizzled into the simmering soup and a little osmanthus are common Jiangnan touches.
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour (plus a little extra)
- about 1/2 cup warm water, added gradually
- 1 cup sweet fermented rice wine (jiuniang / laozao)
- 3 cups water
- 3-4 tbsp rock sugar or to taste
- 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
- 1 tbsp dried osmanthus flowers (optional)
- 1 tsp wolfberries / goji, soaked (optional)
Steps
- Make the dough: gradually mix warm water into the glutinous rice flour and knead until it forms a smooth, soft dough that does not crack — add a touch more flour or water as needed.
- Roll the dough into thin ropes and pinch off small pieces, rolling each between your palms into tiny pea-sized balls. Keep them dusted with a little flour so they do not stick.
- Bring the 3 cups of water to a boil, drop in the yuanzi, and cook until they float and turn translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the jiuniang and rock sugar, stir gently, and let it return to a gentle simmer so the wine warms through (avoid a hard boil, which dulls its aroma).
- If using egg, slowly drizzle the beaten egg into the simmering soup in a thin stream and stir once to form silky ribbons.
- Stir in the osmanthus and soaked wolfberries, then ladle into bowls and serve hot.