Spinach Glutinous Rice Balls
These Spinach Glutinous Rice Balls turn the whole vegetable into a vibrant, waste-free meal. Blanched leaves are kneaded into the dough for chewy, jade-colored tangyuan, while the roots simmer in a fragrant ginger and dried shrimp broth, finished with silky egg ribbons.
Story
Nothing goes to waste in this clever soup. Blanching the spinach first rids the leaves of oxalic acid, leaving them soft enough to knead straight into glutinous rice flour for vivid green dumplings. The roots, often discarded, are reserved and sliced to lend a satisfying crunch to the savory broth built on a fragrant base of minced ginger and dried baby shrimp. A final pour of beaten egg creates delicate silken ribbons across the bowl, tying the chewy rice balls and the deeply flavored soup together.
Ingredients
Spinach
6 stalks
Glutinous rice flour
80g
Egg
1
Dried baby shrimp
15g
Ginger
5g
Salt
2g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Wash the spinach, keep the root ends, blanch in boiling water for about 1 minute, remove and gently squeeze out the moisture (the purpose of this step is to remove oxalic acid).
2
Step 2
Lay the squeezed spinach flat on a cutting board and cut crosswise into two sections, then finely cut the roots into 1cm-long segments.
3
Step 3
Mix the leaf parts with glutinous rice flour, add warm water, and knead into a soft dough.
4
Step 4
Let the small dough rest for 5 minutes.
5
Step 5
Take a small piece of the soft dough and roll it into small tangyuan; beat the egg liquid, and finely mince the ginger.
6
Step 6
Heat a wok, pour in olive oil, and heat over high heat until 60% hot, then add the minced ginger and small dried shrimp and stir-fry over low heat until fragrant.
7
Step 7
Pour in boiling water and bring to a boil.
8
Step 8
Drop the small tangyuan into the water one by one in an orderly manner, wait until the tangyuan float, then skim off any impurities floating on the surface of the water.
9
Step 9
Add the spinach roots and beaten egg, wait for the water to boil again, and finally season with salt and MSG.
