Toisan Savory Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Ball Soup) Recipe (with Video)

Prepare the ingredients
1. Rinse the dried shiitakes, dried shrimp, and dried scallops (if using). Add them to a bowl with 2 cups of hot water, cover the bowl, and let rehydrate.
2. (Optional) If adding pork to the soup, slice it into strips, then add it to a bowl with salt, sugar, soy sauce, white pepper, and water. Mix well. Once the water is absorbed, add the cornstarch and mix again. Finally, add the neutral oil, and do a final mix. Set aside to marinade while you prep the other ingredients.
3. Slice the Chinese sausages diagonally on a bias.
4. Peel the Chinese lo bok (radish) until you get to the more translucent layer. This removes the tough, fibrous skin. Slice into matchsticks.
5. Slice the long napa cabbage into strips.
6. Once the shiitakes and dried shrimp are rehydrated, squeeze out all the excess water, and save the soaking water. Remove the tough stems, and slice the caps into strips.
Pan fry the fish cake (if needed)
1. If your fish paste isn’t seasoned, season lightly with salt and white pepper.
2. (Optional) Put the seasoned fish paste into a bowl, add a little water and cornstarch, and mix in one direction with chopsticks or your hands until it’s sticky and bouncy like dumpling filling. Doing this will give it a bouncier texture.
3. Add some oil to a pre-heated pan, and flatten the fish cake into a large pancake. Pan-fry one side until golden brown, then flip and repeat until both sides are nicely golden.
4. Remove from the pan, and slice into strips.
Make the glutinous rice balls
1. In a large mixing bowl, add the glutinous rice flour (save a small handful of flour on the side for dusting the work surface later). Bring the water to a boil, let cool just slightly, and slowly pour in the water in 3 batches, mixing thoroughly with chopsticks in between each pour to let the flour absorb the liquid.
2. The dough may still look very dry, but start kneading (be careful, as it will be quite hot!), and the dough will slowly become more hydrated and pick up more flour.
3. If the dough is still very dry and doesn’t pick up the rest of the flour, add a little more hot water. If the dough is still very sticky, add some more flour. Knead for 6-8 minutes or until dough is very shiny and smooth. My mom likes to knead it for a few extra minutes for a chewier texture.
4. Cover the dough with a wet paper towel to keep it from drying out.
5. Take a portion of the dough, and roll it out into a long cylinder that’s about 3/4 inch thick. Peel off thumb-sized pieces from this, and roll each piece into a round ball. Place the rolled balls onto a floured surface or tray so they don’t stick to each other.
6. Repeat until you’ve used up all the dough.
Make the soup and combine
1. Heat up a large pot or wok (that will fit this whole soup) on medium-high heat, and add neutral oil. Add the dried shrimp (and scallops if using), and stir fry for 1 minute to release its fragrance.
2. Add the Chinese sausage, and stir fry for another minute or two to release its fats and flavor.
3. Add the shiitakes, and stir fry for another minute.
4. Finally, add the pan-fried fish cake, chicken broth, and mushroom soaking water. Bring it all up to a boil.
5. Once boiling, add the sliced Chinese lo bok. Submerge the lo bok and let it simmer just until they become translucent. They should be firm and still be able to hold their shape.
6. Add the napa cabbage and marinated pork (if using), and cook until just cabbage is slightly softened.
7. Now we’re going to cook the tang yuan in the flavorful broth. First, remove all the ingredients from the soup and set aside, making sure to leave all the broth in the pot. You can do this with a slotted spoon or strainer.
8. Add the tang yuan to the broth, and simmer until the tang yuan floats. This means it’s ready! Don’t cook it for much longer after this, as they get soft very easily.
9. Add the ingredients all back into the soup. Season to taste with salt and chicken bouillon powder (if needed).
10. Serve hot into bowls with scallions, cilantro, white pepper, and soy sauce (optional).