🎊 Celebrate Lunar New Year with Dumplings and Tangyuan (Glutinous Rice Balls)

Celebrate Lunar New Year with authentic homemade dumplings and sweet glutinous rice balls (tangyuan). Learn traditional recipes, step-by-step instructions, and expert tips!

Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is one of the most cherished holidays across many Asian cultures. It’s a time for family reunions, festive decorations, red envelopes, and of course—lots of delicious food. Two symbolic dishes often enjoyed during this season are dumplings (jiaozi) and tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). Dumplings represent wealth and prosperity, shaped like ancient gold ingots, while tangyuan symbolize family togetherness and reunion.

Today, I’ll show you how to make both in your own kitchen with simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps. Whether you’re celebrating with loved ones or just craving cozy comfort food, these homemade treats will bring joy to your table.

🥟 Dumpling Recipe (Jiaozi)

Ingredients (For 4 people):

• Dough:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup + 3 tbsp of room temperature water
  • 3/4 tsp salt
• Filling (sorry I always make it adhoc fashion and eyeballed it, so can not give out amount for now):
  • ground pork (add some shrimp will be much better)
  • finely chopped zucchini (Napa cabbage classic and taste better, did not have it at that time)
  • 5 shitake mushrooms (optional)
  • green onions, finely chopped
  • soy sauce
  • oyster sauce (or substitute with more soy sauce)
  • sesame oil
  • grated ginger (or ginger paste)
  • salt
  • black or white pepper
  * note: one of the most attractive character of dumpling is being able to taste the freshness of the vegetables in it, so use more salt and less oyster sauce or soy sauce

🍡 Tangyuan (Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls)

Ingredients (Makes about 16 tangyuan):

• Dough:
  • 1.5 cup glutinous rice flour
  • about 1/4 boiling water
  • about 1/4 room temperature water (adjust to make the dough soft and flexible but not too sticky)
• Filling Options (I made 2 flavors this year):
  • sesame filling: 80g grounded black sesame, pecan or other nuts 30g, 60g sugar, 50g melted butter, 3tbsp water
  • peanut butter filling: 80g grounded roasted peanut, 30g rose jam, 30g sugar, 50g melted butter, 3tbsp water

🧰 Essential Equipment

• Large mixing bowls
• Rolling pin (for dumplings)
• Steamer or pot with a lid
• Pot for boiling tangyuan and dumplings
• Slotted spoon

👩‍🍳 Step-by-Step Instructions

Dumplings:

1. Make the Dough: Mix flour, salt and water, knead for about 15 minutes until smooth. Cover and let rest for one hour.
2. Prepare the Filling: Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.
3. Shape the Wrappers: Divide dough into 1-inch balls (about 10g each). Roll into thin circular disc.
4. Fill & Fold: Add a spoonful of filling to each wrapper. Fold in half and seal the edges.
5. Cook: Boil in boiling water, once water boiling again, add half cup of cold water, repeat 3 times; OR pan-fry until golden, add water and steam; OR steam in steamer for 10 minutes.

Tangyuan:

1. Make the Dough: Add boiling water to rice flour, roughly mix, then add room temperature water, mix and knead into soft dough. add flour if too sticky, add water if not soft enough
2. Shape the Balls: Flatten dough, add filling, seal and roll into smooth balls.
3. Cook: Boil until balls float, reduce heat so water barely boiling, then cook 1–2 more minutes.

💡 Helpful Tips & Substitutions

• Store-bought dumpling wrappers save time for busy cooks.
• Swap pork with ground chicken, tofu, or even mushrooms for a vegetarian version.
• Anything not too watery (even salty ones) can be used for tangyuan filling

🧊 Storing & Reheating Leftovers

• Dumplings: Freeze uncooked. Cook directly from frozen.
• Tangyuan: Freeze uncooked separately. Boil straight from frozen, no thawing. Caution: tangyuan store too long easy to break during cooking

❓ FAQ

Can I add other vegetables to dumplings? Yes! Finely chopped carrots, mushrooms, or chives work great.

Can I make tangyuan with regular rice flour? No. Glutinous rice flour is essential for that chewy texture.

Can I prep in advance? Yes, both dumplings and tangyuan freeze beautifully before cooking.

🌟 Wrap-Up

Lunar New Year is about more than just food—it’s about love, family, and celebrating a fresh start. Making dumplings and tangyuan is a delicious way to honor the tradition, bond with loved ones, and create meaningful memories. Don’t worry about perfection—enjoy the process, share the joy, and have a beautiful New Year.

Happy Lunar New Year! 🧧🥟🍡