Rice Balls in Sweet Fermented Rice Soup 酒酿元宵
Rice Balls in Sweet Fermented Rice Soup is featured among the local specialties of Jiangsu.
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Rice Balls in Sweet Fermented Rice Soup (酒酿元宵) is a Changzhou (常州) sweet with white, springy glutinous-rice balls and a fragrant, lightly sweet fermented-rice soup. Zhonglou District (钟楼区) government identifies it as a familiar dish at local celebrations and meals for guests.
Rolled in a bamboo basket
The fermented rice is made from locally grown glutinous rice and a traditional fermentation starter. For the small balls, fine glutinous-rice flour is sprinkled with cold water in a large round bamboo basket. Repeatedly shaking the basket rolls the mixture into small spheres, which are made fresh for cooking.
Fermented rice and boiling water are mixed in a serving bowl; cooled boiled water can be used in summer. The rice balls are boiled separately until they float, cooked for about two more minutes, then drained and added to the bowl. Sweetened osmanthus can be mixed in for another layer of fragrance.
A noodle-shop connection
In 1940, Ma Shanbao (马珊宝) opened Mafuxing Noodle Shop (马复兴面馆) in Shuangguifang (双桂坊), where he made and sold the dish. The district government recalls the shop’s bamboo baskets being shaken from morning to evening in the days leading up to the Lantern Festival.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.