Sweet Red Bean Soup Tang Yuan (Hong Dou Tang)

Step 1

Soak the dried peels in warm water for 15 minutes or until they are soft. Scrap off the white part inside the peel if any. It's bitter. I used store-bought peel and so the white part has been removed

Step 2

Pour enough water to cover the red beans and soak for at least 4 hours or overnight. Discard the soaking water

Step 3

Rinse the red beans in water and discard bad ones, if any. Place inside the inner pot of Instant pot. Add the peel and water. Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set the timer to 45 minutes. 30 minutes will do too, but I like some of my red beans to be "broken", which makes the soup a bit thicker and 45 minutes is perfect for me

Step 4

After 45 minutes has elapsed, wait 10 minutes and then release the pressure. Carefully unlock the lid. Stir in the sugar and small pinch of salt. Adjust the amount to your taste. If you like the soup to be thicker, press "saute" mode and let it boil for another 10 minutes or so to evaporate extra liquid. Keep in mind that the soup is thicker when it cools down. Stir in some coconut cream or milk if you want extra flavor from the coconut. I love it, but didn't use it this time

Step 5

Put the beans, dried peel, and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat to let it simmer until the beans are soft, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You may need to add some water during the cooking period. Cook until some of the beans are broken and some are still whole. It's up to you how you want the consistency to be. I like some of the beans broken and the soup to be thicker. Cook to the consistency you like

Step 6

When you are happy with the consistency, stir in brown sugar, adjust the amount to your taste preference

Step 7

Mix glutinous rice flour and icing sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the boiling hot water. Stir to mix with a spatula at first and when it's not too hot anymore, use a clean hand to mix and knead into a non-sticky dough. Add a bit of water as needed to form a dough. The dough will be soft and pliable because of the hot water. Cover them with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out

Step 8

Pinch off a small amount of dough, about 8-10 grams (it's up to you how big or small you want them to be) and then roll into small balls. You should have no problem with the dough breaking because the dough is so soft and pliable. Keep the small balls covered with plastic wrap too. Continue with the rest

Step 9

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. When they are rolling boil, add the tang yuan balls and cook until they float to the top. Once they float to the top, cook for another 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and submerge them in a fresh water briefly to stop the cooking process and to prevent them from sticking to each other

Step 10

Ladle the sweet red bean soup into serving bowls and add tang yuan balls, it's up to you how many balls you want to add for each serving. I think around 10-12 mini balls are good to start with (though I can eat more LOL)