Tangyuan can be boiled directly, but it is usually scalded with boiling water before eating, which can also make the human body absorb it more comprehensively. In addition, glutinous rice balls can tonify deficiency, regulate blood, strengthen spleen and stimulate appetite, and modern nutritionists also admire the health care function of Yuanxiao.

Tangyuan, one of the representatives of traditional snacks in China, is a spherical food made of glutinous rice flour. There are usually fillings, which are cooked and eaten with soup. At the same time, it is also the most distinctive food of the Lantern Festival with a long history. According to legend, Tangyuan originated in the Song Dynasty. At that time, Mingzhou (now Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province) began to eat a novel food, which was filled with black sesame seeds and lard, added with a little sugar, and wrapped in glutinous rice flour. After cooking, it tastes sweet, delicious and interesting. Because this glutinous rice dumpling is floating and heavy when cooked in a pot, it was originally called "floating Zi Yuan", and later in some areas, "floating Zi Yuan" was renamed as jiaozi. However, jiaozi symbolizes better family reunion. Eating jiaozi in the new year means family happiness, so it is a must-have food for the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month. In some areas in the south, people will also get used to eating glutinous rice balls during the Spring Festival instead of jiaozi.