Chinese New Year: Fuzhou Yuanxiao Amigurumi Crochet Pattern・农历新年: 钩针编织福州元宵

Today is the last day of Chinese New Year, commonly known as Chap Goh Mei (Hokkien for "fifteenth night") or Yuanxiao Festival (元宵节) in Singapore and Malaysia. Being another day for reunions, it is customary to eat tangyuan (汤圆), aka kueh ee, as their roundness symbolises unity, togetherness and completeness. Previously, I made amigurumi tangyuan, namely, the classic tangyuan and six-coloured tangyuan to celebrate the occasion. But as I've been exploring Fuzhou foods recently, I made crochet Fuzhou yuanxiao for this year's Yuanxiao Festival.

As mentioned in my CNY 2022 tangyuan amigurumi post, tangyuan is the name southern Chinese use, while yuanxiao is the name northern Chinese use. In English, we just call them glutinous rice balls or sticky rice balls regardless of how they're made or what their fillings are, and here in Singapore, we call them tangyuan. So I have to say that I found it a little confusing that Fuzhounese call them yuanxiao, despite Fuzhou being the capital of Fujian, a southern Chinese province.

Crochet Fuzhou yuanxiao for Yuanxiao Festival

I grew up eating the sweet tangyuan in ginger tong sui for the Yuanxiao Festival, Dongzhi and such occasions. But apparently for Fuzhounese, the traditional food on Yuanxiao Festival is Fuzhou yuanxiao (aka meat yuanxiao, xiān ròu yuán xiāo 鲜肉元宵), glutinous rice balls filled with pork mince seasoned with soy sauce, sugar and stock. It is rolled into a ball, or a stylised yuanbao shape, or a muyu/wooden fish, then cooked in boiling water and eaten as-is. The Fuzhou yuanxiao brings to my mind the Hakka and Toisan style tangyuan, which are also savoury but served in a savoury soup.

When looking up for more information, I was able to find more information and recipes in English on the Hakka and Taiwanese styles than I could on the Fuzhou style. In fact, most of the results from my research on Fuzhou foods, including the ones I grew up eating, were in Chinese; there wasn’t much I could find online in English. My Chinese language proficiency is rather limited, so research was a challenge. But it was pretty fun and I gained a greater appreciation of my heritage in the process.

The popularity of meat yuanxiao in Fuzhou has been attributed to a famous yuanxiao shop called Erlongbo Yuanxiao (耳聋伯元宵) in Fuzhou’s Taijiang district. The shop opened in 1906 and was originally named Guifang after the founder Lin Guifang, who was the son of yuanxiao peddler in Fuzhou. It came to be called Erlongbo (literally "deaf uncle") by patrons because Mr Lin had a hearing problem.

Interestingly, in the past, Fuzhounese didn't traditionally eat yuanxiao on Yuanxiao Festival. There is an old Fuzhou saying: "吃三粿、喝青红", referring to an old Fuzhou custom on Yuanxiao Festival of eating 3 kinds of kueh — 糖粿/年糕、芋粿/肉丸、菜头粿; namely, sweet nian gao, steamed yam cake or meatballs, and steamed radish cake — and drinking qinghong wine, the red yeast rice wine we call hóng zāo wine here. I'm wondering of this was why during my childhood, our Chinese New Year table would include woo tau goh (aka orh kueh) and chai tau kway (sometimes steamed pumpkin kueh), or the Southeast Asian versions of these, which are of Teochew, Cantonese or Hokkien origins.

Well, I didn't have any of these kueh or Fuzhou yuanxiao on hand, nor did I make them, so I settled (happily) for some Fuzhou fishballs and rouyan for my dinner instead. And when Hubby came home from work, we both had some peanut-filled tangyuan in ginger tong sui. Maybe next time, I'll try making some real Fuzhou yuanxiao, but for now let's go with crochet ones.

FUZHOU MEAT YUANXIAO CROCHET PATTERN

Materials & Tools:

• Yarn, fingering / sports weight in white and medium brown
• 2.5 mm crochet hook
• Stuffing
• Stitch markers
• Scissors
• Yarn needle
• Safety eyes, embroidery thread (optional)

For my crochet Fuzhou yuanxiao, I used Xuefei'er Meng Wawa milk cotton yarn No.2 (off-white) and No.30 (camel brown).

Abbreviations (US Terms):

R : round or row (as the case may be)
MR : magic ring
ch : chain
sl st : slip stitch
st(s) : stitch(es)
sc : single crochet
hdc : half double crochet
dc : double crochet
inc : increase
dec : decrease/invisible decrease
hdc2tog : half double crochet 2 sts together (or substitute with the invisible decrease in hdc)
dc2tog : double crochet 2 sts together (or substitute with the invisible decrease in dc)
(...) : a set/sequence of sts
[...] : total number of sts in round/row

Finished Size:

Whole Yuanxiao: approx. Ø3.5 cm × 3.5 cm
Half Yuanxiao: approx. Ø3.8 cm × 3 cm
Half Yuanxiao Meat Filling: approx. Ø2.5 cm × 2.5 cm
(The finished size will depend on the yarn weight, hook size and crochet tension.)

Pattern Notes:

• The regular hdc2tog and dc2tog can be replaced with the invisible decrease in hdc and invisible decrease in dc. The method is similar to the invisible sc decrease method.
• Feel free to include safety eyes or to add cute expressions or kaomoji on the amigurumi with embroidery thread.

WHOLE YUANXIAO

RICE BALL

Using white/off-white yarn, work in rounds,
R1. 6 sc in MR. [6]
R2. 6 inc. [12]
R3. (1 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [18]
R4. (2 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [24]
R5. (5 sc, 1 inc) 4 times. [28]
R6-10 (5 rounds). 28 sc. [28]
R11. (5 sc, 1 dec) 4 times. [24]
If adding safety eyes, insert them before continuing. Stuff.
R12. (2 sc, 1 dec) 6 times. [18]
R13. (1 sc, 1 dec) 6 times. [12]
R14. 6 dec. [6]
Fasten off. Weave the end through the front loops of the last 6 sts and pull to close the work.
Insert the end into the centre of the last round and pull through.

HALF YUANXIAO

The meat filling is made using the lemon peel stitch (aka crochet seed stitch). By alternating single crochet and double crochet stitches, a slightly bumpy texture is created, making the work look similar to the texture of mince meat.

OUTER RICE BALL

Using white/off-white yarn, work in rounds,
R1. 6 sc in MR. [6]
R2. 6 inc. [12]
R3. (1 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [18]
R4. (2 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [24]
R5. (5 sc, 1 inc) 4 times. [28]
R6-9 (4 rounds). 28 sc. [28]
R10. 4 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc2tog, 3 hdc, 5 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc2tog, 3 hdc, 3 sc. [26]
R11. 1 dec, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 1 dec, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 3 sc. [24]
The mix of sc, hdc and dc sts should create a slightly curved edge.
Fasten off and leave a tail for sewing. Do not stuff.

INNER RICE BALL

Using white/off-white yarn, work in rounds,
R1. 6 sc in MR. [6]
R2. 6 inc. [12]
R3. (1 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [18]
R4. (2 sc, 1 inc) 6 times. [24]
R5. (11 sc, 1 inc) 2 times. [26]
R6-7 (2 rounds). 26 sc. [26]
R8. 4 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc, 3 hdc, 5 sc, 3 hdc, 1 dc, 3 hdc, 3 sc. [26]
R9. 1 dec, 2 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, 1 dec, 1 sc, 2 hdc, 3 dc, 2 hdc, 3 sc. [24]
The mix of sc, hdc and dc sts should create a slightly curved edge.
Fasten off. Do not stuff.

MEAT FILLING

Using medium brown yarn, work in a continuous round,
R1. (1 sc, 1 dc) 2 times, 1 sc in MR. [5]
At the end of each round, push out the dc sts with the back of the crochet hook, if needed.
R2. 1 dc and 1 sc in each st. [10]
R3. (1 dc and 1 sc in the next st, 1 dc) 5 times. [15]
R4. (1 sc, 1 dc) 7 times, 1 sc. [15]
R5. (1 dc, 1 sc) 7 times, 1 dc. [15]
R6. Repeat R4.
If adding safety eyes, insert them before continuing. Stuff.
R7. (1 dc2tog, 1 sc) 5 times. [10]
R8. (1 dc2tog, 1 dec) 5 times. [5]
Fasten off. Weave the end through the front loops of the last 6 sts and pull to close the work. Insert the end into the centre of the last round and pull through. Hide the end inside the work.

TO COMPLETE

Complete the Meat Filling

1. If adding safety eyes, insert them in the Meat Filling, about 3 sts apart.
2. If desired, use embroidery thread to stitch the amigurumi face on the Meat Filling.

Complete the Rice Ball Wrapper

3. Insert the Inner Rice Ball into the Outer Rice Ball, with their wrong sides facing each other and their right sides facing outwards.
4. Using the tail of the Outer Rice Ball, join the Inner Rice Ball and Outer Rice Ball by whip stitching through both loops.

Complete the Fuzhou Yuanxiao

5. Insert the Meat Filling into the Rice Ball.
6. If desired, attach the Meat Filling to the Rice Ball by using the remaining tail of the Outer Rice Ball to join the Meat Filling to the Inner Rice Ball with small stitches. Make sure the stitches cannot be seen. (For my amigurumi, I left them as separate parts.)
7. Secure and hide all ends inside the work.

I also made crochet Fuzhou fishballs. The only differences in the patterns are the size of the crochet meat filling and the colour of the yarn. But more on this another time.

Coincidentally, today is also Hinamatsuri, Girls' Day in Japan. And so I also want to wish all young girls around the world health, happiness and prosperity. Naturally, I can't help but think of my niece and my goddaughter as well. I got to spend some time with them over the weekend, and it's wonderful seeing them grow.

Peanut tangyuan, ginger tong sui, Terauchi Shinji rice bowls

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Thank you for stopping by. I hope you had fun reading this and trying your hand at this crochet Fuzhou yuanxiao rice ball. If you made this amigurumi, I would love to see what you did. So do share a picture of it by tagging me on Instagram @yotsuba_blythes.

While I'm happy to share my pattern without charge and would be delighted to see it being used, please note that my pattern is for personal use only. Please respect my legal and moral rights as the author with respect to this pattern and all the images herein. This pattern and images are not for commercial use, sale or distribution. The sale of this pattern or any of the images is not permitted without my prior written consent. If you wish to share this pattern, please link to this post and my Instagram profile @yotsuba_blythes. While you are welcome to sell limited quantities of the finished items you have made from this pattern, proper attribution for the pattern would be much appreciated.