Keep Rolling!

Today is the 15th day of the 6th moon of the Chinese lunar calendar and I have just bought myself some colourful glutinous rice balls to eat (yummy!). Though some households observe this day by making these rice balls (known as "puah nee ee" or "half yearly rice balls") for worship, it is traditionally made during the Winter Solstice Festival which falls in December. This is a very auspicious time of the year and families will get together to roll these rice balls which signify "fullness" and "togetherness".

When we were kids, we used to help the elders do the rolling. We were strictly told to wash our hands first before we could start. The dough was placed on a large circular bamboo tray - white dough in one corner and coloured dough in another. I remember it was difficult to get a standard size for the balls as so many people were doing the rolling! In the old days, they made the white rice balls bigger than the coloured ones but now I see that they are all the same size. It was fun doing the rolling and even more fun eating the fruit of our labour!

Rice balls of today come in healthy pastel shades as opposed to the bright red, green and yellow of yester years. I love these scrumptious little balls. The bad news is that according to Chinese belief, by eating these rice balls during the Winter Solstice, you welcome in the winter and become one year older!