Yunnan Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball Soup

Yunnan Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball Soup

　　Red bean glutinous rice ball soup is one of the most traditional ways to prepare glutinous rice balls in Yunnan. You can find them in many dessert shops or snack stalls, and longtime residents of Kunming have countless delicious descriptions when talking about them. In fact, making tasty red bean glutinous rice ball soup isn’t difficult—just gently shake the cooked glutinous rice balls in a basin filled with red bean flour, and they’ll be coated with fragrant red bean powder. Then drizzle some brown sugar syrup over them to prevent the bean-coated balls from being too dry and to add rich flavor to the glutinous rice skin.

　　The filling of the red bean glutinous rice balls is also quite flavorful. Peanuts and sesame are the most common nowadays, but some longtime Kunming locals say that the most traditional version used homemade red bean paste as the filling. The sweetness could be adjusted to personal preference, and using fully cooked red beans gave it a texture that could only be described as “mealy.”

　　Nutritionist’s comment: Red bean glutinous rice ball soup is an authentic specialty of Kunming. A bowl of red bean glutinous rice ball soup paired with a bowl of fermented tofu rice noodles—one sweet and one savory—is perhaps the true taste of old Kunming. In fact, besides its traditional flavor, red bean filling is highly nutritious. In addition to protein, starch, and dietary fiber, red beans also contain a variety of minerals and trace elements such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc. At the same time, red beans have high medicinal value and offer excellent health benefits, including clearing heat and detoxifying, as well as strengthening the spleen and benefiting the stomach.