Sesame Balls (Jian Dui) with Almond Filling
Crispy Sesame Balls with an Almond Twist: a New Year Classic
Sesame balls are a traditional New Year's feast dish in China. They symbolize prosperity and wealth, and for singles they represent finding one's true love. At Chinese weddings, they are commonly paired with Chinese arrowhead chips, because these two dishes represent giving birth to a male heir to take over the family's undertakings, which is a common blessing bestowed upon newlyweds.
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Ingredients
Dough
- 2 ¾ cups (300 grams) glutinous rice flour
- 8.79 fluid ounces (260 milliliters) ice water
- 4.05 ounces (115 grams) wheat starch
- 1/2 cup (115 milliliters) boiling water
- 5.97 ounces (169 grams) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
- 6.63 ounces (188 grams) lard
- 0.67 ounce (19 grams) wheat starch, added at the end
- 7.93 ounces (225 grams) white sesame
- 2.64 ounces (75 grams) black sesame
Filling
- 2.64 ounces (75 grams) sweet almonds, shells removed
- 2.64 ounces (75 grams) bitter almonds, shells removed
- 3 ⅓ cups (790 milliliters) water (for mixing filling)
- 1/2 cup (94 grams) sugar
- 1.28 fluid ounces (38 milliliters) almond milk
- 1/3 cup (38 grams) cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (37 milliliters) water (for mixing with cornstarch and almond milk)
Please see measurements in grams to be more exact for all ingredients and seasonings.
Cooking Directions
How to make the dough
- Blend glutinous rice flour and ice water in blender to create a dough.
- Add boiling water to wheat starch to create hot wheat starch dough. Add sugar and salt; stir evenly. Add glutinous rice dough from step 1. Stir thoroughly. Add lard in two increments. Stir evenly. Finally, add the 0.67 ounce (19 grams) wheat starch marked “add at the end” and stir evenly. Refrigerate overnight.
How to make the almond filling
- Soak bitter and sweet almonds for 4 hours. Remove from water. Place in blender with 3 ⅓ cups (790 milliliters) water and blend, creating an almond syrup. Place in pot and bring to boil over high heat. Strain out large chunks, leaving the almond juice.
- Mix almond milk, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup (37 milliliters) water to create almond milk batter. Boil almond juice from step 1. Add sugar and bring to boil. Add almond batter and boil until it thickens. Remove from pot and let cool.
How to assemble and fry sesame balls
- Add 0.81 ounce (23 grams) filling to 0.81 ounce (23 grams) dough. Knead into ball. Dampen with water, and then roll ball in white and black sesame seeds. Lightly knead ball to ensure it stays together during frying.
- Heat oil to 248°F (120°C). Turn off heat. Add sesame balls. When they float in oil, turn heat on high and fry until golden brown. Remove from pan and strain away excess oil.
Tips on Having Golden Brown Sesame Seeds on Jian Dui
When frying sesame balls, there may be three reasons why the sesame seeds fall off:
- The uncooked sesame balls were not damp enough when they were rolled in sesame seeds.
- You didn't knead the sesame balls after rolling them in sesame seeds to ensure that the seeds stay stuck to the ball.
- If you don't fry the sesame balls immediately after rolling them in sesame, then you must wrap them up in damp cloth or plastic wrap. If they become dry, the sesame seeds will fall off. If the temperature of the oil is too low when frying, the sesame seeds will fall off as well. If the oil is too hot, the sesame balls will appear golden brown, but the dough will not be thoroughly cooked.