Qingtuan (青团): Mugwort Mochi by: Judy 0 Comments Jump to Recipe Posted:4/29/2021Updated:4/27/2021 It’s a clear sign of spring when these little green glutinous rice dumplings, or Qingtuan (青团), appear in supermarkets and food stores in Shanghai.It’s as much a sign of spring as daffodils, robins, and the grass turning lush and green.  I grew up eating qingtuan and always loved the unique aroma of the green sticky rice dough (which is very similar to Japanese mochi).You already know my love for the filling, which is traditionally red bean paste.  These are precious, because the availability window is usually very short.

It’s just a few weeks in April, usually around Qing Ming (Tomb Sweeping Day), a day for Chinese families to visit their ancestors who have passed.  Mugwort: A Versatile Ingredient Used Across Asia Having spent the past thirty-something years (since I left Shanghai), missing this springtime treat, I recently found out that the ingredient I need to make it myself has been right under my nose this whole time!  It’s a weed called mugwort, or 艾草 (ài cǎo) in Chinese, also known in English as wormwood.And I have always seen it in my yard.I’ve always just pulled it up and discarded it as a weed! Oh can you imagine the irony? Now I truly understand when people say, so close, yet so far!  That’s why the window to make and enjoy qingtuan is so small.

It’s when the mugwort plants shoot out of the

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