Red bean tang yuan

Simple recipe, Chinese tang yuan is even easier to make than mochi. Adapted from this red bean recipe by Rice and Roti and this black sesame seed recipe by Gumdrop button, this recipe is really more intuitive and instructive. Everyone has a recipe that works for them. I am starting to understand why such recipes are passed on from grandmothers to mothers to daughters. Unfortunately, neither gran nor mom cooked this while they were alive. We pretty much just had store bought.

However, this week being the coldest winter week of the year (and previous decade apparently), it seemed fitting to cook this, and also to use up my leftover Anko. Note btw, 1 can of Anko goes a really long way. So far I've done dorayaki (4 dorayaki ie 8 hotcakes sandwiched), 15 tang yuan, and I still have 1/4 can left!

Ingredients (makes 15 ping pong sized tang yuan)
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup warm (but not hot or boiling water)
1/4 can anko
2 cm piece of ginger
rock sugar to taste
2 to 3 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
4 - 5 Chinese rice bowls of water

Method
1) Prepare the syrup first as it will take some time. In a pot, add the water, ginger, pandan leaves, and rock sugar. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off the fire and leave it to steep.
2) In a mixing bowl, pour in the glutinous rice flour. Slowly add water a bit at a time, using a spatula to mix it till well combined. It should just come together, so you may not need to use all the water. After it has come together, knead it into a smooth dough with your hand, which takes about 2 to 3 minutes. The dough should leave the sides of the bowl. If it's too sticky, add flour. Alternatively, if it's too dry, add just a touch more water.
3) Pinch off around 1 tbsp of dough and flatten it on a well-floured palm. Put about 1/2 tsp of the anko in the centre, and bring the sides of the dough around the ball of anko to cover it. Ensure that it is well sealed and that no bean paste is visible, otherwise cover with a bit more dough. Roll the dough in your hand to reform the ball. Roll each ball in flour and place on a well-floured plate, with plastic wrap. Ensure that the balls don't touch each other.
(I'm not very precise about this but if you really wanted to form similar sized balls, you could roll out the dough into a log on a well-floured surface, then chop off similar sized nuggets and even weigh them if you want)
4) In a separate pot of bring water to a rolling boil. You should have at least 3 inches of water otherwise the balls will sink to the bottom and stick. Drop in the balls and keep stirring to ensure that the balls don't stick to each other and don't stick to the bottom of the pot. When they float to the surface, they're cooked. (Hence I'm not really precise about the balls since equal cooking time isn't important because it's pretty clear which are cooked and which aren't). Lift them out with a sieve and drain them, then place them straight into the syrup.
5) Serve immediately. The extra unused balls can be frozen on their plate. Next time, cook from frozen.