The best Tang Yuan ginger syrup recipe

Learn to make incredible sweet ginger syrup for Tang Yuan.

What is Tang Yuan 湯圓?

Tang Yuan or Tong Yuen is a Chinese dessert made with glutinous rice balls served in water or a sweet syrup. The rice balls are made of glutinous rice flour and water and often stuffed with a flavoured paste such as ground black sesame, peanut, or red bean paste. 

What makes the dessert so special?

The Word “Tang Yuan” sounds like “Tuen Yuen” in Cantonese, which means “Togetherness or Unity”. The round shape of the balls and the bowl that it is served in, makes this a popular dessert to eat with the family to symbolize family togetherness.  I enjoy biting into the balls and getting the pop of flavour from the filling (I find the glutinous rice part pretty bland). A good syrup is what brings the dessert together, which is why I wanted to share my ginger syrup recipe. 

Aside from family gatherings throughout the year, the dessert is typically eaten during Chinese holidays including the Lunar New Year, Chinese Valentine’s Day, Winter Solstice (Dongzhi), and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Why you need this recipe?

This recipe is focused on the sweet syrup and not on how to make the tang yuan from scratch.

I find that the store-bought versions (and I have tried many brands) comes out consistent each time, tastes good, and really inexpensive. I bought a pack of 10 glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame seeds (featured in the recipe below) for less than $4 CAD including tax at T & T Supermarket. Hey, if you can save time on making dessert so you can focus on other parts of your meal, it’s worth it!

The stand out…

I love ginger and my sweet syrup has the warmth and slight spiciness from the ginger, yet it is not overpowering. The technique to getting the ginger taste to come through in the syrup is to smash the ginger and have it cook in the water first. Then grated ginger is added to bring out the ginger taste even more. As for the sweetness, I find that my ratio of one Chinese Brown sugar stick to every 6 cups of water is perfect, but the sweetness is subjective. Try out the recipe and adjust the sugar and ginger levels to your liking.

The recipe is passed down from my parents who have been making it this way for many years. The additional ingredients including dried longan pulp, goji berries, and mini dates are excellent additions, including health benefits, but feel free to omit or change it up with the items you have in your pantry. All ingredients in my recipe can be easily found at Chinese grocery stores in Canada.

Do note that the sweet syrup in my recipe is watery and not a thick syrup consistency like maple syrup. As for the flavour of the glutinous rice balls, you can use any filling flavour of your choice.

Remember to PIN this recipe!