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.