''Qīngtuán'' ( 青糰) or ''Tsingtuan'' is a form of

dumpling Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources), oftentimes wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour, buckwheat or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fi ...

that is green, originating from

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

but common throughout

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is made of

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

mixed with

Chinese mugwort Chinese mugwort is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Artemisia argyi ''Artemisia argyi'', commonly known as silvery wormwood or Chinese mugwort, is a herbaceous perennial plant with a creeping rhizome. It is native to China, ...

or barley grass. This is then usually filled with sweet

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

black bean paste Black bean paste, commonly called ''dòushā'' () or ''hēidòushā'' (), is a sweet bean paste often used as a filling in cakes such as mooncakes or '' doushabao'' in many Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines. Black bean paste is made from pulverized ...

. The exact technique for making ''qingtuan'' is quite complicated and the grass involved is only edible in the early spring, so it is typically only available around the time of the

Qingming Festival The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Ko ...

, with which the dumpling has become associated. Nowadays, Qīngtuán sold in most

convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

s in China are made of glutinous rice mixed with

matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia. The green tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed during ...

. It also has more diverse fillings, such as

rousong ''Rousong'' or ''yuk sung or bak hu'' ( ; ), also known as meat floss, is a dried meat product with a light and fluffy texture similar to coarse cotton, originating from China. ''Rousong'' is used as a topping for many foods, such as congee, to ...

or salted egg yolk. Much of the ''qingtuan'' consumed in China is prepared and consumed as

street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...

from local vendors.

Origin

The tradition of eating qingtuan at

evolved from the ancient Chinese Cold Food Day (one or two days before Qingming Festival). The custom on Cold Food Day is that people do not make a fire and stop cooking. People can only eat food that doesn't need to be heated. Therefore, food such as Qingtuan can be prepared a day in advance and can satisfy hunger. Later, the Cold Food Festival evolved into the Qingming festival, and qingtuan eaten on the Cold Food Festival became an essential food for the Qingming Festival in eastern and southern China.

Ingredients

The main ingredients of traditional Qingtuan are glutinous rice flour, Chinese

mugwort Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus ''Artemisia.'' In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species '' Artemisia vulgaris'', or common mugwort. In East Asia the species '' Artemisia argyi'' i ...

or barley grass, and red or black bean paste. The general steps for making Qingtuan are: The mugwort is first crushed and squeezed out to make the green juice. Then, mix the green juice with the

flour when it is still hot and knead it into a dough. Divide the dough and bean paste into equal amounts of small balls. Then put the bean paste and a nip of lard oil into the flour ball, roll it into a round ball, and put it into the steamer, then it is ready to be served.Mengjie.
Across China: Sticky rice balls make tradition 'stickier' for young Chinese
. Xinhuanet, 4 Apr 2017. Accessed 26 Apr 2021.

References

Chinese cuisine {{China-cuisine-stub

Origin

Ingredients

See also

References