Fried Tangyuan with Pickled Mustard
酸菜炒汤圆 (Suan Cai Chao Tang Yuan)
Fried tangyuan with pickled mustard is a specialty of Guizhou Province, and one of the most bizarrely delicious dishes I have ever tried. This dish begins with tangyuan, sticky rice dumplings stuffed with sweetened black sesame paste. [1] The tangyuan are lightly breaded and fried, then stir-fried with ginger, garlic, chili, and sour and savory pickled mustard (酸菜). [2] The result is an overwhelming combination of flavors and textures—simultaneously savory and sweet, spicy and sour, crispy and chewy. It sounds like a combination that shouldn’t work, but somehow does. Don’t believe me? You’ll just have to make it for yourself.
Ingredients
10 black sesame tangyuan
¼ cup cornstarch
4 oz pickled mustard, diced
1 inch ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 dried red chilies, minced
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp flaky sea salt
Vegetable oil
Begin by bringing a pot of water to the boil to cook the tangyuan. We will be using tangyuan with a filling of black sesame paste for this dish—you can use either homemade or store-bought ones. In either case, tangyuan can be cooked directly from frozen. Add the tangyuan to the pot, and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Too vigorous a boil can damage the dumplings. Simmer for 10 minutes or to package instructions, or until the tangyuan float and are fully cooked through.
While the tangyuan cook, rinse the pickled mustard leaves and then let them soak in a bowl of cold water. This soak helps draw some of the salt out of the pickle, mellowing the flavor slightly. After a 5-10 minute soak, drain the mustard leaves, dice them, and set aside.
When the tangyuan are done cooking, remove them from the pot and let them chill in ice water for 10 minutes. Why? We will be breading and frying these tangyuan in a bit, and the cold shock will firm the tangyuan up slightly, making them easier to handle. It will also allow the air inside the filling pocket of the tangyuan to cool down. This is critical to our frying operation. Deep frying tangyuan can be a treacherous activity because no matter how high-quality the dumpling is, there will always be at least a small amount of air wrapped with the filling inside the thick and sticky rice flour skin. When subjected to heat, air will expand, increasing in volume and looking for a way out. When you deep fry other wrapped objects, such as samosas or spring rolls, you will see this air escaping in the form of a stream of small bubbles. However, the mochi-like skin of tangyuan is far too thick and impermeable for air to escape from. The air inside a frying tangyuan will just continue to expand until eventually the structural integrity of the dumpling fails abruptly, exploding and sending hot oil flying all over the kitchen. To avoid this fate, we need to start with as low an air temperature as possible, hence the chilling. We also want to minimize the amount of time that the tangyuan is in the hot oil. We can do this by setting the oil temperature higher than normal, to 375° F.
In a cast iron pan or heavy pot suitable for deep frying, bring 1 inch of oil up to 375° F. While the oil comes up to temperature, drain the tangyuan from the ice water, gently shake dry, and coat in cornstarch. The cooked tangyuan are quite delicate and have slightly sticky exteriors, so handle them with care. Coat them thoroughly in the starch, patting the cornstarch onto the dumplings if necessary.
When the oil is up to temperature, add the tangyuan to the oil one at a time. The chilled tangyuan should be safe in the oil for about a minute, but to stay on the safe side I recommend to fry each of the dumplings for 30 seconds. Work in small batches so you can monitor each of the dumplings in the oil. Once a dumpling has been in the hot oil for 30 seconds, remove it and drain on a paper towel lined plate. The tangyuan should be just crisp on the outside. Toss the still-hot fried tangyuan with some flaky sea salt.
Next up is the stir-frying step, which brings all of the flavors together. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced ginger, minced garlic, and dried chilies to the skillet. Stir fry the aromatics for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Then add the brown sugar and diced pickled mustard to the skillet. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mustard has given up most of its moisture. Add the deep fried tangyuan to the skillet and toss gently with the other ingredients for 2 minutes. Remove the dish from the heat and serve immediately, while the tangyuan are still crisp!
Substitutions
You can experiment with other flavors of tangyuan in this recipe, such as peanut. If you want a spicier dish, increase the number of dried red chilies, or add a pinch of Sichuan peppercorn.
[1] Tangyuan are usually served as a dessert item during the Spring Lantern Festival, or at Chinese weddings. Black sesame is a very traditional tangyuan filling, though in modern times you can find versions with more exotic fillings, such as chocolate or fruit jams.
[2] 酸菜 is made from Chinese mustard greens, or gai choy. The vegetable is salted and then pickled. Traditionally, rice is added to the brine to kickstart the fermentation process.
Recipe
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 25 min Total Time: 40 min
Difficulty: 5/5
Heat Sources: 3 burners
Equipment: pot, pan for deep frying, nonstick skillet
Servings: 4
Ingredients
10 black sesame tangyuan
¼ cup cornstarch
4 oz pickled mustard, diced
1 inch ginger, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 dried red chilies, minced
1 tsp brown sugar
½ tsp flaky sea salt
Vegetable oil
Instructions
1. In a pot, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. When the pot comes to a boil, place the tangyuan in the water and manage the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes or to package instructions, until the tangyuan float and are fully cooked.
2. Rinse the pickled mustard, then place it in a bowl of cold water to soak.
3. When the tangyuan are done, drain them and chill in cold water for 10 minutes. When the tangyuan are completely cool, drain them and pat dry with paper towels.
4. Meanwhile, drain the pickled mustard, dice it, and set aside.
5. In a cast iron pan or other heavy pot for deep frying, bring 1 inch of vegetable oil to 375° F. While the oil is coming up to temperature, coat the tangyuan in a layer of cornstarch.
6. Fry the tangyuan for no more than 30 seconds each to prevent explosions, working in batches. Drain the fried tangyuan, and toss with flaky salt while still hot.
7. Add about a teaspoon of vegetable oil to a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the minced ginger, minced garlic, and chilies to the skillet. Fry for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
8. Add the brown sugar and diced pickled mustard to the skillet, and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
9. Add the fried tangyuan and fry for an additional 2 minutes, tossing to coat the tangyuan in the other ingredients. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
