Black Sesame Tangyuan

Ingredients

• 80g black sesame seeds
• 60g icing sugar
• 60g lard or unsalted butter, softened
• 1 pinch fine salt
• 200g glutinous rice flour
• 170ml warm water, plus extra as needed
• 1.2 litres water, for the syrup
• 40g rock sugar
• 4 slices fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp dried osmanthus flowers, optional

Before you cook

• Line a small tray with baking parchment for the filling balls.
• Slice the ginger thinly without peeling it.
• Take the lard or butter out of the fridge so it is soft enough to mash.

Steps

1. Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for four minutes, shaking constantly, until they smell nutty and start to pop.
2. Tip the seeds onto a plate and let them cool completely.
3. Grind the cooled seeds to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or food processor.
4. Mix the ground sesame with the icing sugar, the softened lard and the salt until you have a thick dark paste.
5. Roll the paste into sixteen small balls, about 8g each, and set them on the lined tray.
6. Freeze the filling balls for thirty minutes, so they are firm enough to wrap.
7. Put the glutinous rice flour in a bowl and pour in the warm water in stages, mixing with chopsticks.
8. Knead the dough for two minutes until it is smooth and no longer sticky, adding water a teaspoon at a time if it cracks.
9. Divide the dough into sixteen pieces and keep them under a damp cloth.
10. Flatten one piece into a disc about 6cm across, thicker in the middle than at the edge.
11. Set a frozen filling ball in the centre, then draw the dough up around it and pinch the top closed.
12. Roll the sealed ball between your palms until it is smooth and perfectly round, and repeat with the rest.
13. Put the 1.2 litres of water, the rock sugar and the ginger slices in a pot and simmer for five minutes until the sugar dissolves.
14. Bring a separate large pan of water to a gentle boil and slide the tangyuan in, stirring once so they do not stick.
15. Cook them until they float, then give them a further three minutes so the filling melts through.
16. Lift four tangyuan into each bowl with a slotted spoon.
17. Ladle the hot ginger syrup over them and scatter with osmanthus flowers if you are using them.
18. Serve immediately and eat them carefully, as the sesame centre is very hot.