Fried Chinese Sesame Balls

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4.67 from 3 ratings

Learn how to make delicious fried sesame balls for your next dim sum party!

Prep Time35

Cook Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chinese

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: fried sesame balls, sesame ball recipe, sesame balls

Servings: sesame balls

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Becca Du

Equipment

Candy Thermometer

Ingredients

½ cup boiling water
1 ¼ cup glutinous rice flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
144 g red bean paste ~1/2 cup
¼ cup sesame seeds
6 cups vegetable oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine 1 ¼ cup of glutinous rice flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ tsp of baking powder, and ¼ tsp of salt. Mix together.
Boil ½ cup of water and pour it into the bowl. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Use your hands to bring all the pieces together into a dough ball.
Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, divide 144 grams of red bean paste into 9 dough balls weighing 16 grams each.
Pour ¼ cup of sesame seeds into a fine mesh sieve and run it under some water to soak the seeds. Empty the seeds onto paper towels to dry them off a bit. The sesame seeds should be damp, not soaking wet.
Once the dough has rested, divide the dough into dough balls weighing 32 grams each.
Take a dough ball and flatten it into a ~3 inch disc with the center thicker than the edges. Place a red bean paste ball in the center and wrap the dough around the red bean paste. Roll it between your palms so it's in the shape of a ball and then coat it in the damp sesame seeds. Repeat this process for the rest of the dough and red bean paste.
Heat 6 cups of vegetable oil to 300 degrees F (149 degrees C). Use a candy thermometer to keep the oil temperature consistent.
Drop 3-4 sesame balls in the oil and fry for 10 minutes. Keep the balls rolling in the oil to ensure even frying across the entire surface. If one side starts to puff up too much, press it down to keep it in a circular shape. Repeat this process for all the sesame balls.
Once each batch is done frying, place them onto a paper towel to soak up excess oil.
Increase the temperature to 340 degrees F (171 degrees C). Fry the sesame balls for an additional 5 minutes to get that brown color. Make sure to work in batches.
Once done frying, let them cool on paper towels for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Experiment with different fillings like lotus paste, black bean paste, peanut butter, and nutella to make this dish your own!
You don't have to make the filling from scratch. You can buy them at the store or online. Red bean paste and lotus paste can be bought on Amazon.
Use a candy thermometer to keep a consistent frying temperature.

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