Shanghai Lasha Yuan

Shanghai Lasha Yuan

　　Lasha Yuan is one of the signature snacks from Shanghai’s Qiaojiazha Dim Sum Shop, with a history of over 70 years. Legend has it that in the late Qing Dynasty, in the area around Shanghai’s Sanpailou, there was an elderly woman surnamed Lei. To make tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) easier to store and carry, she pioneered the method of rolling boiled tangyuan in white powder. Later generations, in her honor, named this type of tangyuan Lasha Yuan. The Lasha Yuan served at Qiaojiazha Dim Sum Shop is made by grinding cooked red adzuki beans from Chongming County into a paste, which is then dried to produce a purplish-red powder. Next, glutinous rice tangyuan filled with a variety of stuffings such as fresh meat, red bean paste, or sesame are boiled, drained of excess water, and then rolled in a layer of the red bean powder. These tangyuan are colorful, fragrant, and when served hot, they exude a rich aroma of red beans. They are soft, glutinous, refreshing, easy to carry, and have long been popular among visitors.