Food.com
Tangyuan, a beloved classic Lunar New Year dessert, transports me back 15 years to my grandmother’s kitchen in Chinatown. All my aunties and I would convene in the kitchen to make the sweet ginger soup and shape the sticky rice balls by hand just before dinner. As my family would begin finishing up a massive spread of various Lunar New Year dishes, we’d begin preparing the tangyuan dessert to be enjoyed by everyone, together. This recipe is a tribute to my family and memories of my young adulthood. Nutella was my morning, midday, and midnight study snack throughout college and it serves as a key component in this dessert. The hazelnuts in the filling offer a delightful crunch and the salt counterbalances the sweetness of the Nutella. My inspiration for adding orange peels and spices to the soup was drawn from the flavors of mulled wine, which complement the ginger perfectly.