He Jia Tuan Yuan (Tofu Ball Soup for Lunar Chinese New Year)

5 Reviews

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 30 min
Ready In: 45 min

“On Lunar Chinese New Year, we usually like to have meatballs or sweet dumplings. Ball in Chinese is 'wan,' sweet dumpling in Chinese is 'tang yuan.' Their shapes are both round. So we use a meatball dish and/or sweet dumpling dish to emphasize the Chinese expression 'He Jia Tuan Yuan.' 'He Jia' means the whole family. 'Tuan Yuan' means 'all be together' ('yuan' also means circle, round as well, which connects with the shape of the meatballs and the sweet dumplings). This tofu ball dish is easy to make, and it is a great soup for your Lunar New Year meal.” - by Tao,RN

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Metric US

Original recipe yields 5 servings

Directions

Place the tofu into a large bowl, and mash it into a paste with a large spoon. Stir in the pork, cornstarch, egg, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules, and 1 teaspoon salt until the mixture is very well combined.
Heat the water and vegetable oil to a boil in a large saucepan, and reduce heat to an active simmer but not a full boil. Using gloved hands, pinch off about 1 tablespoon of the tofu mixture, roll it into a ball between your palms, and slide it carefully into the water so it doesn't break apart. Repeat with the rest of the tofu mixture. Without stirring the soup, let the tofu balls simmer until they rise to the top, about 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, and stir in the dried shrimp, pea vine shoots, 1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (5 total)

Calories
239 cal
12%

Fat
15.3 g
23%

Carbs
11.7 g
4%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Reviews (5)

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danyoson

Apr. 13, 2010

"An excellent and easy meal. The only complaint I have is that it is that the flavors are a bit subdued for me. Its not really a complaint though as the soup is supposed to be simple. I would add some ..." See moremiso paste and garlic to the tofu balls as well as put some ginger and lemon grass in the broth. The best thing about this recipe is that you can use it as a base to do whatever you like! Its my new standby."

nicarv

Feb. 22, 2010

"we are foreigners living in China, i made this soup for some local Chinese friends tonight and they loved it! My toddler son also love it - and he is very picky. i left out the shrimp only b/c i forgo..." See moret to buy them. thanks for the recipe Tao!"

TK Bunnies

Mar. 8, 2010

"Wow!! This very good. I had to use spinach because I couldn't find pea fine shoots, and I didn't add the shrimp because I'm not a big fan of them, but my family told me next time I should put the shri..." See moremp in. I really enjoyed making this, very tasty :)"

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