炸元宵
zhá yuán xiāo zaa3 jyun4 siu1
In the north the Lantern Festival dumpling is called 元宵 and it is rolled, not wrapped: hard balls of filling are tumbled through dry glutinous flour until they grow a coat. Fried instead of boiled, they come out crackly outside and molten inside.
The story behind it
The north–south split is real food geography: southern 汤圆 are wrapped from soft dough like dumplings, while northern 元宵 are rolled in bamboo sieves — street vendors in old Beijing shook the sieves in great theatrical arcs every first lunar month. Frying them is the classic northern variation, sold hot at temple fairs alongside the lantern riddles.
Ingredients
- 300 g ready-made yuanxiao or tangyuan (black sesame or red bean)
- Oil for shallow- or deep-frying
- Toothpick or skewer
Steps
- If frozen, boil first until they just float; drain and dry well.
- Prick each ball once or twice so steam can escape — this prevents bursting.
- Fry at medium heat (about 160 °C), turning, until golden and blistered.
- Drain and cool a moment — the filling inside is lava-hot.