Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls

Plain glutinous rice balls seem boring, why not stuff them with some filling, just like these Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls.

Winter Solstice Festival is coming. As a Chinese descendant, we have the tradition of making glutinous rice balls with sweet soup on this day. It is a mandatory dish to make every year as these small round balls symbolize family unity. It becomes an important seasonal food during a time of year when the seasons begin to the warmth of spring.

I used to make plain glutinous rice balls, and they only attribute to add chewiness and texture to the sweet soup. It seems pretty boring to make plain glutinous rice balls time by time. Therefore, I was thinking to stuff them with some filling to make them not boring.

You can choose from peanut to chocolate filling, everything you want them to be. My favorite filling is black sesame paste because I love how the earthy and nutty black sesame flavor complements well with Red Bean Soup I was making. When you take a bite of them, the filling will burst out and add nice contrast flavor to the soup and glutinous rice balls. It is a common stuffing of glutinous rice balls, which is believed to be able to enhance people’s resistance to the cold in winter according to Chinese medicine.

How to Make Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls

1. Make the base soup

Making these Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls is very easy and quick. Firstly, you need to prepare the sweet soup to complement the glutinous rice balls. In this case, I pair them with Red Bean Soup. Sweet ginger soup is also a great pair with them. Then, you need to make the black sesame paste for the filling.

2. Make the black sesame paste

For the filling, you can buy black sesame paste commercially or even make it at home. To make it at home, you need to blend roasted black sesame seeds, sugar, and coconut oil in a food processor until they create a smooth paste.

It should be not runny so that you can stuff them easily with no mess. In addition, it should not be too solid. When you take a bite of the glutinous rice balls, the filling should ooze out easily.

3. Stuff the filling into glutinous rice balls

After making the paste, take a small ball of glutinous rice dough and flatten it with your hands. Put the filling on the center and gather the edges of the glutinous rice dough to completely wrap the filling.

4. Cook glutinous rice balls

To cook them, boil a pot of water and slide them one by one into the pot. Boil for a few minutes till cooked. When it is ready, they will float up and you need to scoop them out and put them in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process.

Lastly, serve them in your sweet soup. In this picture, I serve them with Red Bean Soup. I prefer them warm because they are the chewiest then. They will harden when you put them in the refrigerator. Simply reheat the glutinous rice balls along with the soup to soften them again.

Yield: 12 balls

Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls

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Plain glutinous rice balls seem boring, why not stuff them with some filling, just like these Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Black Sesame Paste

• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds
• 1 1/2 tbsp castor sugar
• 2 tbsp coconut oil

Glutinous Rice Balls

• 1 cup glutinous rice flour (125 gr)
• 1/2 cup warm water (120 ml)

Instructions

Black Sesame Paste

1. Toast the black sesame seeds in a pan over the lowest heat. Keep stirring and toast for around 3 minutes. Be careful with burning them because of their black color. Transfer to a bowl to stop them from cooking. Let them cool completely before using.
2. Blend the roasted black sesame seeds, sugar, and coconut oil in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Glutinous Rice Balls

1. In a medium bowl, add glutinous rice flour. Add warm water little by little and knead by hand until the dough comes together. You may need to add less or more water.
2. Divide the dough into 12 balls. Sprinkle some glutinous rice flour over them so they do not stick together.
3. Take a ball of glutinous rice balls and flatten it with your hand. Put 1 teaspoon of black sesame paste on it. Gather the edges of the dough and wrap the filling completely.
4. In a medium pot, boil water and add the glutinous rice balls. Cook until they float to the top. Scoop them out with a wire ladle and put them immediately into the bowl of the cold water bath to stop the cooking process.
5. Scoop the cooked glutinous rice balls into the prepared soup. Best serve warm.

Notes

Serve these balls with simple sugar syrup or Red Bean Soup.

Did you make this recipe?

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