Qingtuan (mugwort rice dumplings)
Photo: 猫猫的日记本 · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Qingtuan descends from the Cold Food Festival, a custom more than two thousand years old in which fires were forbidden for a day and food was prepared in advance to eat cold. By the Southern Dynasties, records already describe rice flour mixed with wild herb juice, and by the Tang and Song dynasties a herb stained rice dish called qingjing fan was common. The dumpling closer to today's qingtuan is documented from the Ming and Qing dynasties, when herbal juice was worked into glutinous rice flour and shaped around a filling, and it became tied to the Jiangnan region's Qingming grave visiting customs each spring.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Makes about 12Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 100g mugwort or wheatgrass, blanched, or 2 tbsp matcha powder as a substitute
  • 250g glutinous rice flour
  • 30g rice flour
  • 30g caster sugar
  • 200ml boiling water, approximately
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 300g sweet red bean paste, or salted egg yolk and pork floss for a savoury filling

Method

  1. Blend the blanched mugwort with a little water to a smooth puree, or dissolve the matcha powder in hot water if substituting.
  2. Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and sugar in a bowl, then stir in the herb puree and enough boiling water to bring it to a smooth, non sticky dough.
  3. Knead in the oil until the dough is soft and pliable, then divide into 12 pieces.
  4. Flatten each piece into a disc and place a tablespoon of red bean paste, or a piece of salted egg yolk and a pinch of pork floss, in the centre.
  5. Gather the edges up and pinch to seal into a smooth ball.
  6. Steam the balls over high heat for 12 minutes, until the skins turn a deeper, glossy green.
  7. Cool slightly before eating; the skin firms up as it sits.

Tip from the editors. Oil your hands lightly before shaping, or the sticky dough will tear rather than stretch around the filling.

Where to eat qingtuan (mugwort rice dumplings)

Qingtuan (mugwort rice dumplings) in Shanghai

Shen Da Cheng ★ 4.2

¥ BakeryShanghainese pastries, qingtuan and dim sumPeoples SquareWalk-in only

Shen Da Cheng on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai has sold glutinous rice pastries, dim sum and spring qingtuan since 1875, with a queue at its street counter.

Worth the queueQingtuan glutinous rice balls

TipIn spring pick red bean paste for the classic qingtuan, or salted egg yolk with pork floss for the savoury one.

Directions

Xing Hua Lou ★ 4.2

¥ BakeryCantonese mooncakes, dim sum and seasonal qingtuanPeoples SquareWalk-in only

Xing Hua Lou on Fuzhou Road in Shanghai is the flagship of a century-old Cantonese brand, known for its mooncakes, dim sum and seasonal qingtuan.

Worth the queueCantonese-style mooncakes

TipIn spring the pork floss and salted egg yolk qingtuan draws long queues, with a limit on boxes per person.

Directions

Wang Bao He ★ 4.0

¥¥¥ ShanghainesePeoples Square

Wang Bao He on Fuzhou Road in Shanghai began in 1744 as a Shaoxing wine maker and moved here in 1936, when it started steaming crabs to go with its wine.

OrderOrder the wine-soaked crab and the fried bean curd jelly with crab paste, the kitchen's proudest dish.

TipAbout nine in ten dishes on the menu carry crab in some form, down to the xiaolongbao and the Lion's Head meatballs.

Directions

Taikang Foods ★ 4.1

¥ BakeryFresh meat mooncakes and old Shanghai snacksPeoples SquareWalk-in only

Taikang Foods on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai is a long-standing counter for freshly fried pork mooncakes, plus red bean and malted milk qingtuan in spring.

Worth the queueFresh pork mooncake

TipIn spring look for the red bean and malted milk qingtuan, a local favourite alongside the pork mooncakes.

Directions

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