Sesame Balls (Jian Dui)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8 balls
Country of Origin
China (Guangdong)
Description
Crisp, hollow, deep-fried pastry globes made from sweet glutinous rice dough coated in toasted white sesame seeds. As they fry, the dough expands into a crisp outer shell with a delightfully chewy inner layer that houses a small, sweet core of red bean paste.
Presentation & How It's Eaten
Served warm and piled high on dim sum carts. They are soft and squishy; pick them up with your fingers, bite through the crunchy sesame shell, and enjoy the contrasts in texture.
Ingredients
130g glutinous rice flour
45g brown sugar
90ml hot water
80g sweet red bean paste (divided into 8 tiny balls)
1/2 cup raw white sesame seeds
Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
Step-by-Step Directions
Dissolve Sugar: Dissolve the brown sugar completely into the boiling hot water.
Knead Dough: Pour the hot sugar water slowly into the glutinous rice flour while stirring with chopsticks. Once it cools down enough to handle, knead it by hand into a smooth, slightly damp dough.
Divide: Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll each into a ball, then flatten with your thumbs into a small cup.
Stuff: Place a small sphere of red bean paste in the center of the dough cup. Gather the edges upward to enclose the filling, pinching the top tightly so no bean paste is visible. Roll back into a perfect sphere.
Coat with Sesame: Roll each stuffed ball into a small bowl of water to wet the surface, then drop it into a bowl of raw white sesame seeds. Roll around and press down firmly so the seeds lodge into the dough.
Deep Fry: Heat 3 inches of oil to a low 300°F (150°C). Slide the balls in. Once they rise to the surface after 3-4 minutes, use the back of a slotted spoon to gently press each ball down against the side of the wok. This expands the ball. Keep pressing and rolling for 5 to 7 minutes until they double in size and turn golden brown.
Cooking Tips
The Press-Down Trick: If you don't press down on the sesame balls while they are frying, they will remain dense, heavy dough balls instead of puffing up. Pressing them triggers a steam expansion inside the core, pushing the dough outward to create that classic, light, hollow shell.
Nutrition Facts
(Estimated per ball)
Calories: ~180 kcal
Total Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 10mg
Total Carbohydrates: 28g
Protein: 3g
Comments