We call these balls tangyuan or yuanxiao, which made of glutinous rice flour and can be either filled or unfilled with sweet, or savoury stuffing. Sweet fillings are basically made of sugar, nuts, seeds, or beans while minced meat and vegetables are often used the savoury filling. As a symbol of family unity and harmony in Chinese culture, tang yuan is traditionally served around Dong Zhi /winter solstice, about the time when families get together for the holidays.

The way to make tangyuan varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in the south is to shape the dough first into small portions, fill each with the preferred filling, and then roll into rounds. In North China, the fillings are pressed into rounds, and roll in a bowl of dry glutinous rice flour.

#Dough:	#Filling:
200 g Glutinous rice powderangiesrecipes 50 g Rice powder, short-grainangiesrecipes 210 ml Water, warm 1 tsp Matcha tea powderangiesrecipes 1 tsp Cacao powderangiesrecipes	160 g Instant black sesame powder 50 g Caster sugar 60 g Peanut butter Some water

1. In a bowl, stir the instant sesame powder with the peanut butter and some water to make a thick paste. Combine two kinds of rice flour together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add water gradually and mix until you have a soft dough. Divide dough into 4 equal portions, each about 110 grams.
   
2. Add matcha tea powder to one portion and cacao powder to another. Leave two portions uncoloured. Roll each portion out into a long strip to the same length. Place one white strip on the top of the green tea one, and the other atop the cacao strip. Slice each into two.
   
3. Stack layers, alternating white, green and cacao colours. Slice the stack into the small even portions, each about 16-18 grams. Lightly flatten each piece and place 8-10 grams of filling in the center. Seal and roll it into the ball.
   
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Gently drop the glutinous rice balls into the pot of boiling water and remove once they float to the top. Tangyuan can be served in either a very simple sugar wateror a bowl of red bean soup.

A very healthy, popular Chinese soup. Easy to prepare and tastes fantastic!

	Marinade
100 g Chicken breast 3 cup Water 1 tsp Chicken bouillon 1 tsp Ginger root 120 g Sweetcorns, canned 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp White pepper powder 1 tbsp Cornstarch 2 tbsp Water 1 Egg	1/4 tsp Salt Pinch of white pepper powder 1/2 tbsp Cornstarch 1/2 tbsp Water 1 tsp Oil, cooked

1. Rinse the chicken breast well with cold water and pat it dry with paper towel. Finely chop chicken breast and place them in a bowl. Add in the marinade and mix well. Roughly chop the sweetcorns and lightly beat the egg.
2. Place 3 cups of water and chicken bouillon in a deep pot. Bring it to a boil. Add in minced ginger root and chopped sweetcorns. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add in the marinated chicken and stir until cooked, about 2 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Blend the cornstarch and water until smooth. Slowly pour into the soup, stirring constantly until thickened。 Add in the beaten egg and stir until egg swirl through the soup. Remove from heat.

125 g Skinless, boneless fish fillet 2 Egg whites 150-200 ml Water 5 g Salt 10 g Ginger juice 30 g Starchy solution 10 g Chicken oil

Salad oil 15 g Dried mushrooms, soaked and chopped Lettuce shreds A few slices of carrots 300 ml Vegetable or chicken broth 5 g Jiafan rice wine Salt to taste

1. Chop the fish fillet until it reaches the puree consistency and dissolve it with some water. The quantity of water depends on the texture of fish, at about 150-200 ml.
   
2. Season with the salt and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Then add in ginger juice, starchy solution, egg whites and chicken oil. Mix until the mixture is well combined and smooth.
   
3. Place a wok or skillet over the low-middle heat and add in enough salad oil. Using a tablespoon to scoop the fish mixture into the heated oil. Take out as soon as the fish has shaped. Rinse them with a bowl of boiled water to get rid of extra oil.
4. Add the broth in a skillet together with rice wine and salt. Bring it to a boil. Thicken with a little starchy solution. Add in mushrooms, carrot slices and lettuce. Return the fish and stir briefly. Serve immediately.

Marbled Butter Cookies

There are thick and thin types of butter cookies. To keep the shape of piped butter cookies, you will need relatively higher amount of flour or little amount of butter. The structure of cookies comes from flour, to bake thinner butter cookies, that spread out during baking, you need to use more butter. Use quality butter to make those cookies, because they do make a difference.

140 g Unsalted butter 90 g Confectioners’ sugar 1 Egg 1/2 tbsp Whole milk 1 tsp Vanilla extract 205 g German #405 flour

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Line the baking tray with parchment paper and sift the flour. Cut the unsalted butter into the smaller pieces and let soften to room temperature in a mixing bowl. Beat together the egg and milk in a small bowl.
   
2. Beat the butter until soft and smooth. Add in confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fluffy and light. Whip in egg milk mixture in 3 additions, beating well between each addition, and the vanilla extract until well combined. Gradually fold in the sifted flour and mix until just moistened. Excessive mixing and stirring could cause the batter difficult to pipe out and the cookies would turn out hard.
   
3. Spoon the batter into a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe into the moulds onto the prepared tray, leaving 2cm between cookies. Bake on the top shelf in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until the edges of the cookies starts turning golden. Remove and cool them on a rack. Store the cookies in a airtight container they have cooled completely.

A creamy, flavourful and rich treat. The addition of coconut flakes simply enhances the taste of these peanut butter cookie squares.

Crust	Topping
130 g Unsalted butter 80 g Castor sugar 1 package / 8 g Vanilla sugar 1 Egg yolk 160 g Plain flour 30 g Hazelnut, ground 50 g Coconut shreds	180 g Peanut butter, crunchy 3 Egg whites 20 g Confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Soften the butter at the room temperature. Beat in caster sugar and vanilla sugar until smooth. Add in egg yolk and whip on high speed until thick and smooth. Sift in flour, ground hazelnut and coconut shreds. Mix all the ingredients with your hand until a dough forms.
2. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Place on the cookie dough, top with the plastic film and roll it out to a 28x25cm rectangle. Prick the entire surface with a fork and bake on the top shelf in the preheated oven for about 18 minutes.
3. Mix together the peanut butter and egg whites until combined. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Once the crust is done, remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 160C/320F. Spread the peanut butter mixture on the top of the baked crust. Return it to the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove and cut into squares.

Taro balls can be reheated by frying in fairly hot oil for 1 minute or 175C/350F hot oven for 15 minutes.

450 g Taro (frozen) angiesrecipes 2 tbsp Potato starch 2 tbsp Sugar 1/4 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Salad oil Some cornstarch 500 ml Oil for frying

1. Steam the taro till soft, about 15 minutes. Mash with a fork until smooth while hot. Add in potato starch, sugar, salt and oil. Mix well.
2. Using 1 tablespoon of mashed taro to make a oval-shaped balls. Pat the balls with cornstarch. Heat the oil until it reaches 160C/320F. Lower the taro balls in the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Remove, drain and serve.

Many cuisines have their own lemon chicken, this one carries a sweet and sour tang and perfect for a family gathering.

	Marinade	Sauce
180 g Boneless chicken breast (or thighs) 4 tbsp Cornstarch Oil for frying	1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Sugar 1 Egg white 2 tsp Cornstarch 1 tsp Jiafan rice wine 1/4 tsp White pepper powder 1/4 tsp Sesame oil	50 ml Lemon juice 1 tbsp Sugar 80 ml Chicken stock 2 tsp Cornstarch Lemon slices

1. Cut the chicken breast in half. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Mix the chicken breast with marinade and set aside for 15 minutes.
   
2. Heat some oil in a large skillet to 190C/375F. Coat the chicken breast halves with cornstarch and fry until golden, about 5 minutes. Drain and then cut into serving size pieces and arrange on a serving platter.
   
3. Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sauce boils and thickens, about 5 minutes. Take out the lemon slices to put on the chicken first, then pour the sauce over. Garnish with shredded spring onions if desired.

This is the classic Italian almond macaroon. Crunchy and chewy Amaretti cookies are made from either ground almonds or almond paste, along with sugar and egg whites and optionally flavored with Italian almond liqueur Amaretto.

• 300 g Almonds, ground
• 30 ml Amaretto liqueurangiesrecipes
  
• 300 g Sugar
  
• 100 g / 3 Egg whites, large
  
• Confectioners’ sugar fur dusting

1. Preheat oven to 150C/300F. Place parchment paper on baking trays lightly brushed with oil. Combine ground almond and sugar together in a bowl. Beat the egg whites until firm and gradually fold into the almond mixture until combined. Add the amaretto liquor and fold in gently until you have a smooth paste.
   
2. Fill the pastry bag with the almond mixture. Pipe even mounds onto the parchment paper, spacing mounds 2 cm apart as they will expand during the baking process. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven until golden. Remove from the oven and dust with confectioners’ sugar while still warm. Allow them to cool a bit and then remove from the tray.