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Rice Dough Figurines
~ Kelsie Thomsen ~

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rice dough figurine pi.PNG

Rice Dough Figurines is a popular Chinese folk craft. In Chinese, it's called 捏麵人 (nie mian ren)

History

          Rice dough figurines started as mantou(a Chinese bao 'bread'). The top picture is mantou in a steamed pot. Bakers started making their mantou different shapes and objects which is where the idea of rice dough figurines came from. They started out for children to play with or eat, and later developed into delicate pieces of artwork for display, crafted with exquisite workmanship. Most of the figurines today are not edible, because of the added inedible ingredients to preserve the dough even longer.  I used all edible ingredients and used only salt and alum to preserve it. 

          Rice dough figurines became a form of art somewhere between the Tang (A.D. 618-960) and Sung (A.D. 960-1279) dynasties. The artists would use different methods and techniques (which use rolling, pressing, kneading, and pinching) to create unique shapes and patterns.  Rice dough figurines started being sold everywhere, even on the streets to kids. Things like cartoon characters started to be made into rice dough figurines. These would be put on the end of a thin stick.

          Anyone can make rice dough figurines, they aren't difficult to make. The real challenge is making them look lifelike. Giving the figurine life requires skilled hands. Much detail is used to create the art pieces that they make. Adding detail on rice dough figurines requires attention and gentleness because the figurines are very fragile.

          Rice dough figurines are now all over some Asian countries, like China and Taiwan, and are loved by both young and old.

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How to make Rice Dough Figurines

Rice Dough Recipe

I made an edible rice dough recipe, however, it contains a ton of salt so I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND EATING.

Ingredients:

  •  4 c - White Flour​   (base)

  •  1 c - Glutinous Rice Flour   (for softer dough / easier to work with)

  •  2 c - Water   (brings everything together)

  •  1 c - Salt   (lasts longer / no mildew)

  •  1 tsp - Alum   (lasts longer / no mildew)

  •  Few toothpicks & Shish Kabob Sticks

  •  Colored Icing (not food coloring)

Effect of Ingredients:

The white flour is the base of the dough. Water brings all the ingredients together. Glutinous rice flour makes for softer, easier to work with dough. Salt and Alum help the dough last longer, by reducing mildew. Toothpicks are for attaching some body parts and creating creases on the figurine. Shish Kabob Sticks are for the figurine to sit/stand on. Use colored icing instead of food coloring because colored icing is sticky and food coloring is watery and hard to knead into cooked dough. 

Process:

  1.  Mix white flour and glutinous rice flour together.

  2.  Dissolve salt and alum in water.

  3.  Combine mixtures above and knead well.

  4.  Make golf ball size pieces and flatten.

  5.  Place flattened dough pieces into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, remove when they start to float.

  6.  Once cooled, knead in the colored icing.

  7.  Keep in an airtight place (plastic wrap or closed container).

Here's the Rice Dough Tutorial

Rice Dough (ready to use)

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Rice Dough Parrot

The parrot is the most popular rice dough figurine. The parrot is famous for it's simple methods such as the "roll one way" technique for the body's stripes, and different sized raindrops to make the rest of the parrot.

Outcome

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Rice Dough Parrot Tutorial

Outcome

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Rice Dough Pumpkin

Get into the holiday groove by making some festive Halloween pumpkins!

Final Product

Nie%2520Mian%2520Ren_%2520Pumpkin_edited

Fun Facts

  • The rice dough used to make figurines is edible (although would NOT recommend eating, too much salt)

  • Nie mian ren (Rice dough figurines in mandarin) literally translates to "pinch dough person"

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