These Freshly Fried Crispy Sesame Ball are our secret family recipe passed down from my grandma, and I am excited to share it with you today.
Welcome to Day 8 of Cooking 15 Street Food for 15 Days! Today we are making my favorite dessert growing up, Deep Fried Sesame Ball that only requires FIVE simple ingredients. You can find Deep Fried Sesame Ball at night markets, farmers’ markets, dim sum restaurants, and all over Asia’s street. Nothing beats my grandma’s recipe that is super simple and highly delicious!
When I started the Street Food series, my mom immediately recommended that I make grandma’s Deep Fried Sesame Balls. My grandma is the QUEEN of making easy and delicious recipes. My mom’s friends in university use to get so excited when my mom would go home to visit because that means she’s coming back with boxes of my grandma’s famous Deep-Fried Sesame Balls.
You know these Sesame Balls are fried to perfection when they are still crispy HOURS after frying.
My grandma loves to simplify recipes, and she has tons so secret tips and tricks that I am excited to share!
If you never tried Sesame Ball before, it tastes like a fried mochi ball. The dough is covered in sesame seeds and fried till crispy and golden brown. When you bite into the Sesame ball, it is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
You can add many different fillings to it, such as Red Bean Paste, Yam Sweet Paste, Lotus Seed Paste, or Taro Paste. If you don’t have any fill on hand, they also taste amazing on their own.
Before filming the recipe, I face-timed my grandma and got all her secret tips. Her secret that makes the sesame ball DOUBLE in size is to not fry in hot oil right away. By frying in medium heat, it will prevent the sesame ball from burning and bursting.
She likes to fry the sesame ball in medium heat (300 F), and once the ball floats, she will turn the heat to medium-high (350 F) and start pressing the ball down. Press the sesame ball down in the oil for 3 seconds, and once you let go, the sesame ball will double in size. Keep repeating this process until the sesame ball is golden brown and has doubled in size.
Here are few important notes (From my grandma):
- BE PATIENT WHEN FRYING
- Make sure to use RAW Sesame Seed, or else it will burn.
- Glutinous Rice Flour is a REQUIRED ingredient and cannot be substituted.
- Use Peanut, Vegetable, or Grapeseed oil for frying.
- Add in the rice ball once the oil reaches 280 F to prevent the sesame ball from bursting.
- IF the rice ball burst, remove right away to prevent the filling from getting out as it can ruin the whole oil.
- Fried Sesame Balls can last for three days. Refrigerate in an airtight container
- Reheat in oven or air fryer at 350 F for 5 minutes
Do you like dessert recipes? Here are some other EASY Asian Desserts that you will love!
- The BEST Creamy Mango Sago – Only 4 Ingredients!
- Sticky Mochi Pancake with Red Bean Paste
- Korean Fresh Strawberry Milk (Korea Cafe Style)
- Lemon Honey Syrup – Daily Detox or Friday Night co*cktails
Ingredients
- 1 cup of Glutinous Rice Flour
- 2.5 tbsp of Sugar
- 100 ml of HOT Water (Make sure it’s HOT**)
- ¼ cup of RAW Sesame Seeds
- ½ cup of Red Bean Paste or Filling (Optional)– Homemade Recipe in my Holiday E-cookbook
- In a bowl, add Glutinous Rice Flour and 2.5 tbsp of Sugar. Mix well and slowly pour in HOT water. Mix with chopsticks and once it has cooled down, knead until the dough has formed into a ball.*add more flour or warm water if needed. *
- Roll out the dough and cut intten10 pieces. If you are not adding any filling, you can roll into balls and skip to step #5. (Cover the dough that you are not working on with a wet paper towel to prevent it from drying out.)
- Press the dough down and form a dent in the middle. Add in the red bean paste (should be ½ size of the dough and rolled into a ball). Using your thumb, press down the while using the palms to close the opening until the filling is completely covered.
- Gently close the opening to ensure the filling will not spill out, and roll the dough between your palms back into a smooth ball.
- Lightly coat the rice ball in water and cover the rice ball with raw sesame seeds. Using your palm, lightly reshape the ball again to press in the sesame seeds to prevent it from falling off.
- In a pot, add oil and turn the heat to medium. Once the oil is around 280 F, add in the sesame balls. They do double in size, so fry in batches. Fry for 6-7 minutes or until the sesame ball has floated up. Use a wooden spoon to gently move the sesame balls around throughout the process to prevent them from sticking to the pot’s bottom.
- Once it is floating, turn the heat up to medium-high (350 F) and press the sesame ball down for 3 seconds, and letting go, so it doubles in size. Keep frying (2-5 minutes) until it is golden brown and crispy. Make sure to keep an eye out and keep turning the sesame ball, so it fries evenly.
- Let the sesame ball cool for at least 5 minutes before eating for the best texture!
Deep Fried Sesame Balls
These Freshly Fried Crispy Sesame Balls are our secret family recipe passed down from my grandma, and I am excited to share it with you today. Welcome to Day 8 of Cooking 15 Street Food for 15 Days! Today we are making my favorite dessert growing up, Deep Fried Sesame Balls that only require FIVE simple ingredients. You can find Deep Fried Sesame Balls at night markets, farmers’ markets, dim sum restaurants, and all over Asia’s street. Nothing beats my grandma’s recipe that is super simple and highly delicious!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Active Time15 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Asian Recipes, Chinese Food, Easy Recipes, QUICK RECIPES
Yield: 10 Sesame Balls
Materials
- 1 cup Glutinous Rice Flour
- 2.5 tbsp Sugar
- 100 ml HOT Water Make sure it’s HOT**
- ¼ cup of RAW Sesame Seeds
- ½ cup of Red Bean Paste or Filling Optional
Instructions
In a bowl, add Glutinous Rice Flour and 2.5 tbsp of Sugar. Mix well and slowly pour in HOT water. Mix with chopsticks and once it has cooled down, knead until the dough has formed into a ball.
Roll out the dough and cut intten10 pieces. If you are not adding any filling, you can roll into balls and skip to step #5. (Cover the dough that you are not working on with a wet paper towel to prevent it from drying out.)
Press the dough down and form a dent in the middle. Add in the red bean paste (should be ½ size of the dough and rolled into a ball). Using your thumb, press down the while using the palms to close the opening until the filling is completely covered.
Gently close the opening to ensure the filling will not spill out, and roll the dough between your palms back into a smooth ball.
Lightly coat the rice ball in water and cover the rice ball with raw sesame seeds. Using your palm, lightly reshape the ball again to press in the sesame seeds to prevent it from falling off.
In a pot, add oil and turn the heat to medium. Once the oil is around 280 F, add in the sesame balls. They do double in size, so fry in batches. Fry for 6-7 minutes or until the sesame ball has floated up. Use a wooden spoon to gently move the sesame balls around throughout the process to prevent them from sticking to the pot’s bottom.
Once it is floating, turn the heat up to medium-high (350 F) and press the sesame ball down for 3 seconds, and letting go, so it doubles in size. Keep frying (2-5 minutes) until it is golden brown and crispy. Make sure to keep an eye out and keep turning the sesame ball, so it fries evenly.
Let the sesame ball cool for at least 5 minutes before eating for the best texture!
Video
Notes
Here are few important notes:
BE PATIENT WHEN FRYING
Make sure to use RAW Sesame Seed, or else it will burn.
Glutinous Rice Flour is a REQUIRED ingredient and cannot be substituted.
Use Peanut, Vegetable, or Grapeseed oil for frying.
Add in the rice ball once the oil reaches 280 F to prevent the sesame ball from bursting.
IF the rice ball burst, remove right away to prevent the filling from getting out as it can ruin the whole oil.
Fried Sesame Balls can last for three days. Refrigerate in an airtight container
Reheat in oven or air fryer at 350 F for 5 minutes
