Guilin Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Balls

Guilin Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Balls are a heart-warming sweet symbol in winter, carrying the local people's beautiful expectation of "reunion". The production process is quite particular: glutinous rice flour is mixed with warm water into a smooth dough, which is then pinched into small pieces and wrapped with special fillings. The traditional filling is mainly made of cooked white sesame seeds and white sugar, added with chopped dried osmanthus and lard to form a delicate sugar paste. Biting into it, the warm filling melts on the tongue, with the mellow sesame and sweet osmanthus intertwined, and the aftertaste also has the dense aroma of lard. The best part is the soup for cooking the rice balls——a handful of dried osmanthus is sprinkled into boiling water, and a little water starch is added to thicken the soup when the rice balls float, so that a layer of golden osmanthus fragments floats on the soup surface, like a handful of stars scattered. This dessert is not only a must-have food for the Spring Festival and Lantern Festival but also a signature dish in street dessert shops. When foreign visitors taste it for the first time, they are often amazed by the softness of the glutinous rice skin and the rich aroma of osmanthus. It is especially suitable to have a bowl while sitting in an old teahouse after walking around the Two Rivers and Four Lakes, feeling the tenderness of Guilin's slow life.