Sesame Balls
This Sesame Balls (Jian dui) recipe is a delicious Chinese fried pastry made of glutinous rice flour coated with sesame seeds, filled with quick and easy homemade red mung bean paste filling. Ready in 30 minutes!
Servings: 10 balls
Calories: 136kcal
Equipment
- 1 ice cream scoop medium size 1 ½ tbsp
- 1 Slotted spoon or spider spoon
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp salt or a pinch
- 125 ml warm water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil to mix in the dough
- 2 to 3 cups vegetable oil or canola oil, or any neutral cooking oil for deep frying
For coating :
- ⅓ cup sesame seeds
For the filling:
- 170 g red mung beans in syrup preserves
- ½ tbsp salted butter
Instructions
Prepare the red mung bean paste.
- Drain the red mung beans in a jar, and discard the syrup. Transfer the beans to a food processor to puree. In a pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add the pureed beans, and cook while stirring until a thick paste, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let it cool.
- Scoop half a tablespoon of the mung bean paste, roll on your hands in between your palms and form into a ball. Place on a plate and set aside.
Make the dough
- In a medium-sized bowl, add all the dough ingredients. Mix until well combined and form into a ball. The dough should be slightly sticky but not dry.
- Dividing the dough. Apply canola oil to your hands. Scoop the dough with an ice cream scoop or roll the dough and form a log. Divide and cut into 10 pieces.
- Filling the Dough. Flatten the dough on your palm or a clean non-stick flat surface, about 3 to 3½ inches in diameter and ¼ inch thick. Gather the edges of the dough over the filling and pleat until it covers and seals the filling. Roll in between your palms to form a smooth ball. Place on parchment paper and repeat the process for the rest of the dough and filling.
- Coating the dough with sesame seeds. Preheat the oil to 325° F in a pot over medium heat. In a small bowl with water, use one hand to dip the dough and the other hand to roll in the bowl of sesame seeds. Roll in between palms to press the sesame seeds on the dough. Reroll on the sesame seeds to fully cover the dough.
Frying the sesame balls
- In a preheated oil over medium heat. Use a thermometer to test the oil for about 325°F. To test the oil with a bamboo skewer, place and dip the bamboo skewer in the middle of the pot. When the small bubbles start bubbling around the skewer, it's hot enough. Too many big bubbles mean the oil is too hot. Reduce or adjust the heat.
- Use a spider spoon or slotted spoon and carefully drop each sesame ball in hot oil. For the first 5 minutes, it will begin to expand and float. For even cooking, move them around and press them down with the slotted spoon to keep them submerged in the oil. Fry for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Place on a cooling rack with a baking sheet or paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve it warm.
Video
Notes
For this recipe, I cooked one jar of 340 g of red mung bean paste and used half of the mixture. You can freeze the rest of the mung bean paste. Form into balls first then place in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
For safety: Keep in mind that cooking oil temperature is important in frying sesame balls. Too hot cooking oil may result in the sesame balls expanding quickly, bursting or exploding! Keep the oil at recommended temperature.
Pro Tip: If the cooking oil temperature is not hot enough, you will end up with greasy sesame balls. If this is your first time frying sesame balls, start frying with one sesame ball to test the cooking oil and to ensure the sesame balls will fry perfectly.
Storing and Reheating Sesame Balls
It's best to eat fresh and warm. However, the leftover can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 to 5 days. To reheat, best is in a preheated toaster oven at 375 F for about 5 minutes.
