As the Lantern Festival, known in Chinese as Yuánxiāo jié (元宵节), approaches, it’s time to start thinking about eating yuanxiao or tang yuan. These are glutinous rice balls stuffed with various fillings. This air-fryer tang yuan recipe takes frozen sweet glutinous rice balls and makes them into something a bit different!
A New Way to Enjoy Tang Yuan
This recipe shows that with a little imagination, we can turn our traditional tang yuan into an extraordinary dessert.
Traditional tangyuan, or sweet rice balls—usually filled with sweet fillings like black sesame, red bean, or peanut (though there are also savory tang yuan)—are served in soup, or rather the hot water they were boiled in.
They’re pleasing to our palates and comforting to our souls around this time of year! Their round shape symbolizes family reunion or togetherness, which is why they’re a traditional Lantern Festival food.
While we have recipes to make your own tang yuan (see our Black Sesame Tang Yuan recipe and our Savory Tang Yuan recipe), most people—us included—buy them frozen from the Chinese grocery store.
We always have a pack in the freezer for a quick dessert when we want something sweet. Sarah’s husband Justin especially enjoys them!
I got this idea from the Chinese internet—breading the tang yuan with panko and sweet coconut, and then air-frying to create a crispy, sweet coating.
Think of it as tang yuan all dressed up—or a creative dessert for a special occasion, whether it’s the Lantern Festival or some other special dinner!
Choosing Frozen Tang Yuan at the Chinese Grocery
Find frozen tang yuan in the freezer section of your local Chinese grocery store. Choose any sweet flavor you like. Our family’s favorite is black sesame, though Sarah is also partial to peanut. You could even get several different flavors, and each bite will be a fun surprise for your guests!
I chose the largest ones I could find, as I think the larger they are, the better suited they are to this recipe. They can take the heat better in the air fryer, and you end up with a dessert that has more presence!
That said, if you use smaller tangyuan, you might want to reduce the cooking time to 2 minutes on each side. Overcooking will cause the tangyuan to burst.
If you’re a fan of tang yuan, we hope you enjoy this new way to prepare them. It takes a little more effort than just boiling them, but you’ll have a delightful, light dessert that looks super impressive. Ho one has to know they were made from something that you bought at the store!
Recipe Instructions
Prepare a large bowl of cold water, and bring a separate small pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, use a spoon to slowly stir the water in a circular direction while adding in the tang yuan. This keeps the water moving, and prevents the tang yuan from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Boil until the tang yuan float to the surface, then use a slotted spoon to immediately transfer them to the bowl of cold water to cool down. (Don’t walk away from the tang yuan while they’re cooking. Over-boiling will cause them to become too starchy, making the rest of the recipe more difficult.)
In a large bowl, combine the sweetened coconut flakes, sugar, panko, salt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
Take each tang yuan and coat it in the coconut mixture…
And then in the beaten egg.
Then coat it in the dry mixture one more time.
Roll the coated tang yuan between your palms or inside of a small deep bowl to smooth the outer surface. Repeat with the rest of tangyuan.
Line your air fryer trayer with parchment paper, and arrange the tangyuan in the tray with at least ½ inch (1.25cm) of space between each one.
Set the air fryer to air-fry at 350°F/175°C for 6 minutes. After 3 minutes have elapsed, open the tray, flip all the tang yuan over, and then push the tray back in. Air fry for the remaining 3 minutes, until all sides of the tang yuan are crispy and golden. (Be careful not to overcook them, or it will cause the tangyuan to burst. If using smaller tang yuan, air-fry for 2 minutes on each side, or 4 minutes total.)
Allow them to cool for a couple minutes before enjoying them while still warm! Careful! They’re very hot when they first come out of the air fryer.
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Recipe
Crispy Tang Yuan (In An Air Fryer!)
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- 9 large frozen tang yuan
- ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes (if your coconut flakes are not sweetened, double the amount of sugar in the recipe)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or neutral oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs (beaten)
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl of cold water, and bring a separate small pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, use a spoon to slowly stir the water in a circular direction while adding in the tang yuan. This keeps the water moving, and prevents the tang yuan from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Boil until the tang yuan float to the surface, then use a slotted spoon to immediately transfer them to the bowl of cold water to cool down. (Don’t walk away from the tang yuan while they’re cooking. Over-boiling will cause them to become too starchy, making the rest of the recipe more difficult.)
- In a large bowl, combine the sweetened coconut flakes, sugar, panko, salt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
- Take each tang yuan and coat it in the coconut mixture, and then in the beaten egg. Then coat it in the dry mixture one more time. Roll the coated tang yuan between your palms or inside of a small deep bowl to smooth the outer surface. Repeat with the rest of tangyuan.
- Line your air fryer trayer with parchment paper, and arrange the tangyuan in the tray with at least ½ inch (1.25cm) of space between each one. Set the air fryer to air-fry at 350°F/175°C for 6 minutes. After 3 minutes have elapsed, open the tray, flip all the tang yuan over, and then push the tray back in. Air fry for the remaining 3 minutes, until all sides of the tang yuan are crispy and golden. (Be careful not to overcook them, or it will cause the tangyuan to burst. If using smaller tang yuan, air-fry for 2 minutes on each side, or 4 minutes total.)
- Allow them to cool for a couple minutes before enjoying them while still warm! Careful! They’re very hot when they first come out of the air fryer.
