The Lantern Festival

February 9th is the Lantern Festival and signals the end of the Chinese Lunar New Year. It falls on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar year when the full moon hangs in the night sky like a giant, glowing ornament.

As is true with every Chinese festival there is a special food that accompanies the celebration. On Lantern Festival we eat small glutinous rice balls known as yuan xiao or tang yuan.

The white rice balls hold sweet fillings made from either sweet red bean paste, white or black sesame paste or ground peanuts. The rice balls are boiled in water and served hot in the water in which they were cooked then garnished with, you guessed it, candied osmanthus flowers. The rice ball’s round shape and white color resemble the full moon and symbolize togetherness and happiness.

Frozen rice balls are readily available in Chinese markets. Some are imported from Taiwan or China and come in a variety of flavors, mostly sweet. They are very easy to prepare, simply drop them,frozen (no need to thaw), into boiling water and when they float to the surface they are ready! Serve them hot.

My personal favorites are the ones filled with peanut paste and I’m going to have a bowl of them tonight.

Happy Lantern Festival!


Copyright 2009 Helen Chen. All rights reserved.