← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 80 g black sesame seeds
• 40 g Sugar
• 40 g coconut oil, softened
• 160 g Glutinous rice flour
• 140 ml warm water, roughly
• 750 ml Water
• 5 cm piece Ginger, sliced
• 60 g brown or rock sugar

Method

1. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 3–4 min, stirring, until fragrant and starting to pop. Cool, then grind finely with the sugar. Mix in the coconut oil to a paste and chill for 30 min until firm enough to roll into 16 small balls. Chill the balls again while you make the dough.
2. Simmer the water, ginger and brown sugar for 15 min to make the syrup. Keep it warm.
3. Put the rice flour in a bowl and stir in the warm water a little at a time until you have a smooth dough that feels like soft play dough and does not crack. Add more flour or water a teaspoon at a time if needed.
4. Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Flatten one into a small cup, set a sesame ball in the middle, pull the dough up around it and pinch to seal. Roll gently into a smooth ball. Keep them covered.
5. Drop the balls into a large pan of gently boiling water and stir so they do not stick to the bottom. Once they float, cook for 2–3 min more, until slightly puffed and the filling is molten.
6. Lift them into bowls and ladle over the hot ginger syrup.

Tips

• Contains sesame. Smooth peanut butter mixed with sugar makes a quick alternative filling.
• Freeze uncooked balls on a tray, then bag them. Cook from frozen, adding 2–3 min.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Sift & Simmer Omnivore's Cookbook