Finished dish photo of Where are the sesame-ball lovers?

Where are the sesame-ball lovers?

If you love eating sesame rice balls, is there one question that’s always puzzled you: how can you make big, puffed-up, hollow sesame balls? The answer is right here in this recipe. Give it a try. Now nothing can stop you from making sesame balls! Well, except for one thing—“You’ll gain weight!”

Ingredients

glutinous rice flour150 g
granulated sugar45 g
warm water105 g
white sesame seedsto taste

Steps

1

First pour the sugar into the warm water and stir with chopsticks for a while until all the sugar dissolves and you get sugar water.

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2

Pour the sugar water into the glutinous rice flour.

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3

Stir with chopsticks to combine the water and glutinous rice flour.

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4

Then use your hand to knead it directly into a dough. This should be a soft dough; if it’s a bit dry, add a little more water as needed, but don’t make it too runny or it won’t hold its shape. You don’t need to knead it for a long time like regular dough, just until it comes together. ★Adjust the water according to the actual situation; aim for a soft dough. Different brands of glutinous rice flour vary greatly in how much water they absorb, so adjust flexibly.

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5

Divide the dough into small pieces of about 20 g each and roll them into balls (if you like, you can wrap a bit of red bean paste inside each one at this point to make filled sesame balls).

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6

Dip each dough ball lightly in water, then roll it in sesame seeds until the surface is fully coated (dipping in water first helps the sesame seeds stick more firmly so they won’t fall off easily).

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7

Now you can start frying. Heat the oil to about 30% hot (low temperature) and add the sesame balls. Fry over low heat the whole time (this is key) and let them cook slowly.

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8

When the sesame balls float to the surface, use a wooden spoon or skimmer or other tool to press them down until they flatten. After being pressed flat, the balls will slowly puff up again. Keep pressing them flat with the wooden spoon, repeating several times (this is another key point. This step is what helps the sesame balls puff up larger, expand better, and become big hollow sesame balls).

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9

Continue frying until the sesame balls are well puffed, round, and golden yellow. Remove them from the oil, drain well, and place on a plate. Enjoy while hot for a crispy outside and soft inside.

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Cooking Tips

1. The ingredients and steps for sesame balls are very simple and can be described in just a few steps. But to make big, puffed, hollow sesame balls, you need a bit of technique. The most important thing is controlling the heat. You must fry them slowly over low heat the whole time. If the oil temperature is too high, the surface will brown and harden quickly and the balls won’t be able to expand. My frying time is about 7–8 minutes for reference. If your sesame balls turn golden in just two or three minutes, the oil is definitely too hot, and in that case they won’t grow big (or even if they do, they will crack badly). 2. If you’re not confident about controlling the oil temperature, once the oil is hot, first throw in one or two balls to test. If they fry properly, then continue with more. If you find the oil temperature is too high, lower the heat and test again. 3. For frying sesame balls, you can use regular vegetable oil (sunflower oil, corn oil, rapeseed/canola oil) or blended oil. Peanut oil will be more fragrant. The oil should be deep enough to completely submerge the balls. I use a small saucepan to fry them; this way you can’t fry too many at once, but you also don’t need a lot of oil each time (with a large pot you’d need to pour in a lot more oil to get enough depth). The oil used for frying the sesame balls can be reused for stir-fries or cold dishes, as long as it hasn’t been used for deep-frying many times. Don’t waste it. 4. In principle, use raw white sesame seeds. I used toasted white sesame seeds, which also work. 5. If you like, you can wrap some sweet red bean paste in the dough before frying to make filled sesame balls (you still need to use the pressing method when frying so they puff up more).