Chinese dessert soup with glutinous rice balls

A couple of weeks ago, I was shopping at the Asian grocery store.  It was early and so quiet after a snow storm (one of many snow storms...I've stopped counting at this point).  I was relishing it and taking my time, a somewhat rare occurrence since I'm usually rushing from place to place.  It's in my nature to rush but these days, I'm trying - with some success - to chill out and slow down the pace.

As I was walking around, I thought about grabbing a packet of glutinous rice balls to make dessert soup.  "Glutinous rice balls" don't sound very attractive, do they?  Well, they are not rice balls as in balls of rice.  These are mochi-like chewy, doughy, sticky balls made with rice flour that we enjoy as dessert.  I like to cook and enjoy them in a classic sweetened ginger soup.    

A Chinese dessert soup:  Two-ingredient chewy, doughy glutinous rice balls in a sweetened ginger broth

Dessert soups are very common in the Asian culture.  Mostly hot, sometimes cold - there are many kinds.  A common one you might come across is made with red beans, and one of my favorites is a very simple one made with sweet potatoes.  With Chinese New Year, I've been feeling nostalgic and have Asian food (particularly, sweets) on the brain. 

Circling back to these rice balls, I usually buy pre-made, frozen ones that are stuffed with peanut butter or sesame paste.  But as I took a packet from the freezer, I remembered I made these little chewy, doughy rice balls myself once or twice back in the day.  I remember making them with my family and my mother telling me how good I was at it.  She was joking.

I bought some frozen, pre-made glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame paste to go with the plain ones I made

So on a whim, I went to the flour section and grabbed a bag of glutinous rice flour.  I remember the flour we use goes by the same name as these little dumplings.  And I also remembered that to make them, all you need is the flour and some warm water, enough to make the dough come together.  I thought it would be fun to make some with my little guy and teach him a little something about Chinese dessert soups - something he's not a fan of because he does not enjoy anything warm. Give him a cup of lukewarm water and he'll say it's scorching.  Hot chocolate must be cooled, preferably with a scoop of ice cream.  You get the idea...

So make a batch of glutinous rice balls, we did.  I even taught my son how to sing this silly song in Chinese about how we roll these little dumplings "round and round".  I made mine plain, for ease and the fact that I actually like plain glutinous rice balls against the sweet "soup".  The plain ones are clearly not flavorful (made with just flour & water) - what I love about them is the chewy, doughy texture.  Fillings are certainly good as well. I picked up some black sesame ones this time and mixed those together with the homemade (pictured above).

These plain glutinous rice balls don't offer flavor but a unique chewy, doughy texture against the sweetened soup

Alas, I did not convert the little one over to the joys of dessert soup.  He tried one, deemed it alright, but wasn't overly impressed.  He is neither a fan of soup or warm things still.  But I have a feeling, one day years from now, we'll talk and marvel at all the things he didn't enjoy eating as a kid that he will like then.  My husband and I always joke that he'll likely be a vegetarian and hate sweets since he is the polar opposite of that now.


You need 2 ingredients to make these plain doughy, chewy glutinous rice balls and one of them is warm water.  

Essentially, you need to buy glutinous rice flour, like the one shown above that's available for less than $2 a bag at an Asian grocery store.  I can't tell you why but I remember we use warm water to mix the dough together.  I didn't even take notes when I made this, relying on memory.  I started with a cup of flour and added enough warm water - roughly half a cup - until a dough forms.

Once the dough comes together, just knead it a few times until you have a smooth mound.  Then, you can start shaping.  Take a chunk, roll it into a snake-like shape (or a rope), and pinch off a piece at a time and it roll into about a 1-inch ball.  You can make them larger or smaller.  Since these are plain, without filling, I think going smaller makes more sense.

My little guy got in on the action a bit and after a few tries, he understood not to press on the dough but to roll it around quickly.  In truth though, I think he found that silly song about making these little dumplings more interesting than helping to make or eat these.

I froze some extras for next time.

Once the rice balls are prepped, it's time to make the sweetened ginger soup. You simply need water, a chunk of fresh ginger to flavor the soup, and Chinese brown sugar bars to sweetened.  These brown sugar bars are readily available at the Chinese grocery store and are sometimes labeled "brown candy" or "candy pieces".  You could substitute with regular brown sugar though I must admit I've never tried that.

So I brought some water to a boil with pieces of crushed ginger and enough of the brown sugar to sweeten the broth.  You can sweeten and use more/less ginger according to your preference.  Once at a boil, cook the glutinous rice balls, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  They are done in a few minutes, once they float to the surface.  I made about half my batch.

Unlike me, most people (like my husband) likely prefer their glutinous rice balls with some kind of filling for more flavor.  Here's what one type looks like.  You find it in the freezer section of the Chinese grocery store.  Peanut butter and red bean paste versions are also available (and tasty).  

I think it's nice to mix the plain and filling ones together.

I enjoyed making these and with these cold and snowy winter days and nights, I've been thinking more about this kind of hot dessert soups.  So here's to something a little different!

Recipe: 

Chinese Glutinous Rice Ball Dessert Soup

- Approximately 4 servings - 

For glutinous rice balls:

1 cup glutinous rice flour

Warm water, about half a cup

For sweetened ginger soup:

6 cups cold water

Fresh ginger, about 3 inches in length

1 1/2 bars Chinese brown sugar, or to taste

Place glutinous rice flour in a medium-size bowl.  Add enough warm water to form a dough, using your hands to bring it together.  Once the dough comes together, knead a few times until smooth.  Take small pieces of dough and roll into about 1-inch balls.  You should have somewhere in the neighborhood of two dozen glutinous rice balls.

Peel ginger with a spoon.  Slice the ginger into 5-6 diagonal pieces and crush the pieces lightly with the spoon (to help release the flavor).  Place water and ginger into a medium-size pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Break one brown sugar bar into a few big pieces and add to the water.  Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.  Taste and add more sugar, as needed.

Gently drop glutinous rice balls into the water.  Give it a light stir to make sure rice balls are not sticking to the bottom of the pan.  (If it seems the pan is overcrowded, you might want to cook the rice balls in two batches.)  Cook a few minutes, until rice balls float to the surface.  Ladle into boils with the soup, and serve hot.