Chinese Lunar New Year

Around the World with Millac! Flavors of Spring: Chinese Lunar New Year

We are so happy that you have kept up with our blog series for so long! Last time, we entered Central America after having journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean. Now we will continue our westward journey via the Pacific coast, crossing the largest ocean in the world to return to our home continent of Asia. Here we will be exploring how the enormous country of China welcomes spring not only as a new season, but as the start to a new year. Much like the Persian tradition of Nowruz which can be seen in the westernmost province of Xinjiang, the rest of the country partakes in Chinese Lunar New Year as a time to reconnect with loved ones and open themselves to take in the blessings of the next year. The months leading up to and after the Lunar New Year are peak travel times in China, as people move from their place of work to their hometowns. This results in the largest annual migration of humans around the entire world! So why do the Chinese regard this as such an important time to get together?

Well, the answer has a lot to do with what we have already learned about the significance of spring in the many cultures around the world as well as unique Chinese philosophies surrounding the end of winter and beginning of spring. Tracing its roots to the ancient Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese people today continue to decorate their houses in red and make loud noises with firecrackers to scare away the Nian monster. Slowly, this resulted in families and communities working together, and so to celebrate this feat of communal achievements, feasts were held with singing, dancing, and other forms of entertainment. Each region and city in China has their own unique flavor of Lunar New Year festivities. Local deities are visited at their shrines and temples while family members also pay their respect to their ancestors. Many foods are prepared in this time period with the sole goal of putting on some happy weight and relaxing before the hard work of the next year begins again. Join Millac in learning how to make Tang Yuan to symbolize wholeness and family reunion. These sticky rice balls are filled with a delicious black sesame filling, made even better with our Millac Unsalted Butter.

Recipe

Gather the following ingredients:

1. Millac Unsalted Butter 6 tbsp
2. Roasted black sesame seeds ¼ cup
3. Caster sugar ⅓ cup
4. Sweet rice flour 1 cup

Preparations before assembling:

1. Soften, don’t melt the 6 tbps of butter
2. Heat ½ cup water until warm, not boiling.

Directions:

1. Use a food processor/ blender to finely grind sesame seeds. Next add the caster sugar and stir with a spoon.
2. Add butter, pulse for 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to a bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Prepare the dough by combining the sweet rice flour with warm water slowly one tablespoon at a time. Cover with a damp towel and set aside.
4. Boil water in a small pot. Once the water is boiling take a one inch piece of dough and cook it in the water until it floats.
5. Add that piece back to the dough mixture, mixing well.
6. Divide the dough into roughly 10 or 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Cover with a damp paper towel.
7. After 30 minutes have passed, take out the cooled filling and roll it into small balls about ½ or ¾ the size of the flour balls.
8. Flatten the dough balls into a 2 inch circle. Place a filling ball in the center and wrap it with the dough. Roll the ball in your hands until it looks smooth and even.
9. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the sesame balls and stir to prevent sticking. When the water level gets low add ½ cup of water and repeat this step two times.
10. Place the Tang Yuan balls in a serving dish and pour a few spoonfuls of the cooking water on top. Serve and enjoy!

We hope that these Tang Yuan balls will delight you and your family. Join us next time for our last installment of the series in India, at the end of which we will have successfully circumnavigated the Northern Hemisphere in time for the end of the spring season!