I added sugared lotus seeds and lotus root to the soup for additional flavour and texture. You can buy them usually during Chinese New Year at Chinese grocery stores.

These rice balls may be stored in the freezer prior to cooking. Do not thaw. Cook from frozen state.

Instructions for filling: this step may be done the day before

• On low heat, toast 65g peanuts until aromatic
  
• Grind peanuts with 40g sugar until you reach your desired coarseness
  
• Add 50g lard to a pot or pan, using low heat, melt lard and add peanut mixture. Mix well
  
• Pour into a wide container to cool.
  
• Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to solidify further
• Remove from container
• Form into any size balls Making some big and some small is traditional to symbolize the young and old in a family
  
• Place balls onto a freezer-safe container, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 60 minutes or until solid. Keep them in the freezer until ready to wrap. Do not thaw.

Instructions:

• Prepare soup for rice balls by adding 2c water, 10g of sliced ginger, 15g pitted red dates (approx. 6) , 25g brown sugar slab (approx. ¼ of a slab), sugared lotus seeds (optional) and sugared lotus root (optional) in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until ready to use
  
• Prepare a plate for completed yuan xiao
• Use a mixing bowl that is large enough to submerse a sieve or strainer. The larger the sieve, the more yuan xiao you can make each time. You can also make them one by one
• Fill 2/3 of the mixing bowl with water
• Add approx. 200g of glutinous rice flour to a bowl or a plate with a high lip. You will use it to roll the yuan xiao around
• Take the formed peanut filling balls out of the freezer
  
• Take one or more filling balls, put into the sieve and dip into the water for 1 second. You just want to quickly wet it
  
• Then place them into the glutinous rice flour bowl. Use your fingers to help coat each ball, then roll it around the bowl until each ball is completely covered with flour
  
• Place the balls back into the sieve and dip into the water again for 1 second Some of the flour may come off
  
• Place the balls back into the flour bowl, roll it around until the flour covers each ball evenly. Repeat this process for 8 additional times. There should be approx. 10 coats of glutinous rice flour for each filling ball.
• When done, place on prepared plate and continue until all the filling has been used
• Boil a pot of water (approx. 1 - 1 ½ L) to cook the rice balls I don’t cook the balls in the soup because you end up making too much soup and is wasted
• When water boils, use a spoon to place the balls into the water. Keep stirring for around 1 minute to prevent balls from sticking to the bottom of the pot. You can put the lid on when the balls are no longer sinking to the bottom
• When the water boils again, add 1 ½ c of water into the pot and cover with a lid
• When the water boils again, turn heat down to medium, cover with lid and let it cook for 2-3 minutes until the balls have evidently increased in size.
• Remove the balls and serve with the red date soup