Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Andell Family Sundays Anytime is thrilled to present "Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Tang Yuan" with Chef Jessica Wang or Gu Grocery and her mother, Peggy Wang. Gather your family and learn to make the traditional Lunar New Year dish Tang Yuan.
Tian Tangyuan Sesame Dumplings
Makes 36 tangyuan
Sesame Filling：
110g (about 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) roasted black sesame seeds, ground to fine powder
80g (1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons) muscovado brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
60g (1/4 cup) soft coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
60g (1/4 cup) water
If you are starting with raw sesame seeds, roast them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes. The seeds are ready when they puff up, and start smoking. Remove from heat and transfer to a dish to cool.
When seeds are completely cool, use a spice grinder, or blender to grind sesame to a fine powder. Blend ingredients together in a small bowl using a spatula. The consistency will be like tahini. Taste and adjust with more sugar, if you'd like. Transfer to a shallow flat container (a loaf pan or rectangular takeout container) and spread into an even layer. Chill in the freezer or refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. Set a timer so you don’t forget! It can get too hard.
While filling is firming up, make sweet rice dough. The dough will rest while you roll the sesame filling balls.
Divide into 3 portions and work with ⅓ of the filling (12 portions) at a time. Keep the rest chilled while you work on each batch. Cut the block of sesame like a mini batch of brownies. Scoop each portion up with your fingertips and roll into a ball, then return to the holding container. Use an additional container as required for spacing (the balls should not be touching). Freeze the portioned and rolled balls until completely frozen. They will be ready for use when frozen.
Glutinous Rice Dough for Wrapping:
250 g (2 cups) glutinous rice flour ~ look for a Thai sweet rice flour, they are very finely ground
105 mL (½ cup) boiling water
105 mL (½ cup) room temperature water
Combine rice flour and boiling water in a heat proof bowl on a steady work surface. The mixture will be crumbly. Add room temperature water and knead by hand until dough comes together. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if the dough cracks easily. Test the dough for stretchiness by making a long shape and pulling the two ends. Form dough into a sphere, cover in mixing bowl, and rest for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 3 portions, then cut each third into halves. Keep dough covered and work with one piece at a time by rolling into logs and cutting into 6 portions for each dumpling. To wrap sesame balls in dough, follow visual guide in video, using a pinch pot method! Cook some dumplings right away and freeze the rest for later! Repack after completely frozen on lined dishes. You can save the filling and tightly wrapped dough in the fridge for another day or two.
Tangyuan Served in Ginger Tea
8 tangyuan
4 cups boiling water
1 inch chunk (about ½ oz or 15 g) fresh ginger, or more for a spicier ginger taste
2 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
Fill your pot with the water. Add more if needed until it is 3 inches deep. Simmer ginger in boiling water for 5 minutes for a light taste, or up to 5 minutes longer gently to infuse further. Strain ginger out or leave it in before next step.
Boil tangyuan in ginger tea on stovetop until water reboils and they float (3-4 minutes) and continue cooking 30 seconds to 1 minute (additional 30 more seconds if cooking from frozen).
Gently transfer tangyuan with slotted spoon to serving bowls. Sweeten ginger tea and ladle over tangyuan. Allow eaters to sweeten their bowls to taste.
Andell Family Sundays @ Home is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and The Hauptman Family Foundation. Outreach for Andell Family Sundays @ Home is made possible in part by Tally and Bill Mingst.
NexGenLA is supported by the Living Legacy Foundation, The Eisner Foundation, the Chapman Hanson Foundation, and The Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation.
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by The Yabuki Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Union Bank, the Flora L. Thornton Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, and Gloria Ricci Lothrop.
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Andell Family Sundays Anytime is thrilled to present "Celebrate the Lunar New Year with Tang Yuan" with Chef Jessica Wang or Gu Grocery and her mother, Peggy Wang. Gather your family and learn to make the traditional Lunar New Year dish Tang Yuan.
Tian Tangyuan Sesame Dumplings
Makes 36 tangyuan
Sesame Filling：
110g (about 2/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) roasted black sesame seeds, ground to fine powder
80g (1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons) muscovado brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
60g (1/4 cup) soft coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
60g (1/4 cup) water
If you are starting with raw sesame seeds, roast them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes. The seeds are ready when they puff up, and start smoking. Remove from heat and transfer to a dish to cool.
When seeds are completely cool, use a spice grinder, or blender to grind sesame to a fine powder. Blend ingredients together in a small bowl using a spatula. The consistency will be like tahini. Taste and adjust with more sugar, if you'd like. Transfer to a shallow flat container (a loaf pan or rectangular takeout container) and spread into an even layer. Chill in the freezer or refrigerator for 30 minutes or until firm. Set a timer so you don’t forget! It can get too hard.
While filling is firming up, make sweet rice dough. The dough will rest while you roll the sesame filling balls.
Divide into 3 portions and work with ⅓ of the filling (12 portions) at a time. Keep the rest chilled while you work on each batch. Cut the block of sesame like a mini batch of brownies. Scoop each portion up with your fingertips and roll into a ball, then return to the holding container. Use an additional container as required for spacing (the balls should not be touching). Freeze the portioned and rolled balls until completely frozen. They will be ready for use when frozen.
Glutinous Rice Dough for Wrapping:
250 g (2 cups) glutinous rice flour ~ look for a Thai sweet rice flour, they are very finely ground
105 mL (½ cup) boiling water
105 mL (½ cup) room temperature water
Combine rice flour and boiling water in a heat proof bowl on a steady work surface. The mixture will be crumbly. Add room temperature water and knead by hand until dough comes together. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if the dough cracks easily. Test the dough for stretchiness by making a long shape and pulling the two ends. Form dough into a sphere, cover in mixing bowl, and rest for 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 3 portions, then cut each third into halves. Keep dough covered and work with one piece at a time by rolling into logs and cutting into 6 portions for each dumpling. To wrap sesame balls in dough, follow visual guide in video, using a pinch pot method! Cook some dumplings right away and freeze the rest for later! Repack after completely frozen on lined dishes. You can save the filling and tightly wrapped dough in the fridge for another day or two.
Tangyuan Served in Ginger Tea
8 tangyuan
4 cups boiling water
1 inch chunk (about ½ oz or 15 g) fresh ginger, or more for a spicier ginger taste
2 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
Fill your pot with the water. Add more if needed until it is 3 inches deep. Simmer ginger in boiling water for 5 minutes for a light taste, or up to 5 minutes longer gently to infuse further. Strain ginger out or leave it in before next step.
Boil tangyuan in ginger tea on stovetop until water reboils and they float (3-4 minutes) and continue cooking 30 seconds to 1 minute (additional 30 more seconds if cooking from frozen).
Gently transfer tangyuan with slotted spoon to serving bowls. Sweeten ginger tea and ladle over tangyuan. Allow eaters to sweeten their bowls to taste.
Andell Family Sundays @ Home is supported by Andrew and Ellen Hauptman and The Hauptman Family Foundation. Outreach for Andell Family Sundays @ Home is made possible in part by Tally and Bill Mingst.
NexGenLA is supported by the Living Legacy Foundation, The Eisner Foundation, the Chapman Hanson Foundation, and The Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation.
All education and outreach programs at LACMA are underwritten by the LACMA Education Fund and are supported in part by The Yabuki Family Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education, Union Bank, the Flora L. Thornton Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Judy and Bernard Briskin Family Foundation, and Gloria Ricci Lothrop.
------
Connect with LACMA
Subscribe for our latest videos: lacma.org/videos
Explore our collection online: collections.lacma.org
Plan your visit to LACMA: lacma.org/visit
Support the museum and become a member: lacma.org/support
Follow us on social
Facebook: facebook.com/LACMA
Twitter: twitter.com/lacma
Tumblr: lacma.tumblr.com
Pinterest: pinterest.com/lacma
Instagram: instagram.com/lacma
