Tangyuan (food)
| Alternative names | Yuanxiao |
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| Place of origin | China |
| Region or state | East Asia |
| Main ingredients | Glutinous rice flour |
| Variations | Regional variants differing in ingredients and method |
| Other information | Traditionally consumed during Yuanxiao (Lantern Festival) |
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| Tangyuan | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 湯圓 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 汤圆 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | soup ball | ||||||||||||||||
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| Yuanxiao | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 元宵 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Hokkien name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 圓仔/米圓 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 圆仔/米圆 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Wu Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 湯團/湯糰 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 汤团 | ||||||||||||||||
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Tangyuan are a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes, anything between a marble to a ping-pong ball, and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan are traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival, but because the name is a homophone for reunion (traditional Chinese: 團圓; simplified Chinese: 团圆; pinyin: tuányuán) and symbolizes togetherness and completeness, this dish is also served at weddings, family reunions, Chinese New Year, and the Dōngzhì (winter solstice) festival.