Snack · 45 min · chinese

Sesame Balls

This is the kind of Chinese snack you’ll make on repeat — glutinous rice flour and granulated sugar, 45 minutes, big payoff.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Glutinous rice flour
• 0.5 cup Granulated sugar
• 0.75 cup Sweet red bean paste
• 0.5 cup White sesame seeds
• 4 cups Neutral oil

Steps

1. Stir the sugar into 3/4 cup hot water until dissolved, then mix into the glutinous rice flour to form a soft, pliable dough. It should feel like an earlobe — too dry and the balls crack in the fryer; too wet and they will not hold.
2. Divide into 12 pieces, flatten each into a cup, and seal a spoonful of red bean paste inside, pinching firmly. Roll smooth between your palms — any seam left open will burst in the hot oil.
3. Dampen each ball lightly and roll in sesame seeds, pressing so they adhere. The seeds are not decoration; they become the crisp, nutty shell.
4. Heat the oil to 300°F — lower than you think. Fry 4 to 5 balls at a time, pressing each gently with a slotted spoon so it puffs hollow. Low, slow frying cooks the dough through before the seeds burn.
5. Drain on a rack and eat warm, when the shell shatters and the center is still chewy. Jian dui are at their peak in the first hour; after that they are still good, just no longer transcendent.

Build my plan — free

← All recipes