Sesame Balls

Sesame Balls are a popular dessert/snack in China, commonly found in many restaurants and street food stalls. They are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a sweet and fragrant taste. Sesame Balls are made from sugar, water, and glutinous rice flour, filled with red bean paste, and coated with sesame seeds before being deep-fried until golden brown. If you're interested, let's try making them together. You won't regret it!

Frying sesame balls can be a bit tricky. If not done correctly, they may explode. If you choose to make sesame balls at home, there are a few tips you must pay attention to. These tips can help you create perfect sesame balls.

1.What is a sesame ball?

Sesame balls, also known as "ma yuan," "ma tuan," or "jian dui," are a famous snack belonging to the category of fried dough snacks. They are made of glutinous rice flour dough, filled with sweet fillings (although sometimes unfilled), and coated with white sesame seeds. In China, sesame balls are commonly sold as breakfast or snacks at street stalls and can also be found in dim sum restaurants. They are also an essential item on the menu during the Lunar New Year, symbolizing prosperity and reunion.

2.What ingredients do you need to make sesame balls?

The ingredients needed to make sesame balls are quite simple. You'll need the following:

- Glutinous rice flour

- Granulated sugar

- Neutral-flavored cooking oil

Tips:

Glutinous rice flour, also known as "nuo mi fen" (糯米粉), is finely ground glutinous rice, similar in color and texture to cornstarch. Despite its name "glutinous," it actually contains no gluten. Wheat flour, regular rice flour, or starch cannot be used as substitutes because they cannot produce the sticky, chewy texture characteristic of sesame balls.

3.What are the fillings for sesame balls?

1. Red bean paste filling: Cook red beans until soft, then mash and sweeten with sugar to make red bean paste filling.

2. Peanut filling: Roast peanuts until cooked, remove the skins, grind into fine powder, and mix with sugar to make peanut filling.

3. Black sesame filling: Roast black sesame seeds until fragrant, grind into powder, and mix with sugar and oil to make black sesame filling.

4. Custard filling: Mix eggs, cornstarch, milk, and other ingredients, heat until thickened to make custard filling.

5. Jam filling: Cook fruits into jam, add sugar and starch to make jam filling.

These are some common sesame ball fillings. You can also experiment with other fillings according to personal preference and creativity, such as salted egg yolk or shredded coconut.

4.How to fry sesame balls correctly?

If sesame balls are not fried correctly, they may explode. When sesame balls are fried, the moisture in the dough evaporates, causing the dough to expand due to steam. If this process happens too quickly or unevenly, or if the dough is not mixed evenly, it cannot expand properly, leading to explosion. Therefore, when making sesame balls, pay special attention to the following points:

1. Sugar helps the rice flour expand when heated. Insufficient sugar may cause cracking and/or explosion.

2. Sesame balls should be fried immediately after shaping, while the dough is still soft and moist.

3. During the first 10 minutes of frying, when each sesame ball is expanding, oil temperatures exceeding 300°F may cause explosions.

4. To ensure uniform frying, movement should be kept constant.

5. If a sesame ball begins to pear-shaped, indicating it's about to explode, remove it immediately.

5.What oil can be used for frying sesame balls?

When frying, it's best to use a neutral oil such as avocado oil, vegetable oil, or peanut oil. It's important to note that canola oil may not be the best choice as there are health concerns associated with consuming canola oil for both adults and children.

Remember, glutinous rice balls easily absorb the flavor of the oil used for frying. If you use oil that has previously been used to fry chicken or fish, the sesame balls will absorb those flavors. For the best taste and results, it's recommended to use fresh oil or oil specifically designated for frying sesame balls.

6.How to store uneaten sesame balls?

Based on my years of experience making sesame balls, sesame balls cannot be stored. Therefore, I recommend making only as many as you can eat in one day and finishing them on the same day. Allowing sesame balls to sit for too long will cause them to become soft, affecting their crispiness.

For beginners, making sesame balls may seem a bit challenging, but don't worry. Just follow my recipe instructions, and I believe you can do it. Let's dive into the recipe now: