Sesame Ball (Zeen Duy)

Cora’s second dish is Sesame Ball (Zeen Duy). Sesame balls can be found in many Chinese bakeries. Chinese believe if you eat sesame balls, your fortunes will expand like the dough expands when it fries.

I like Zeen Duy a lot and remember the days in Malaysia where I always stop and buy some when I see it. In Malaysia, they are usually sold at roadside stores. The ones in Malaysia were huge — like 3 inches in diameter. I miss those stuff a lot. As a matter of fact, this is the first time I have tasted sesame seed balls in Canada, although they are served in some dim sum restaurants.

The Sesame Ball is very light and is practically filled with air on the insides. This is a plain sesame ball but it is also common to have a little bit of fillings of stuff like red bean paste. Anyhow, the plain ones is just as nice because the main flavor of sesame seed is in the crunchiness of the fried sesame seed.

Ingredients

• 1 package of glutinous rice flour (227g)
• 2 slabs of brown sugar (peen tong)
• 1 – 1.5 cups of hot water
• White sesame seeds for coating
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of sake (Japanese wine); optional

Instructions

Heat a big wok of oil to medium low.

Dissolve the brown sugar slabs in the hot water. Set aside to let it cool.

In a large bowl, add the glutinous rice flour. Slowly add in the brown sugar syrup. Do not dumb in all the syrup at once as you might not need all depending on the consistency of the dough. The dough should not be too wet.

This is where you need to get your hand to work. Mix and knead the dough with your hand as you add the syrup.Add in the sake while kneading the dough. If it gets too wet, just add in more glutinous rice flour.

Form the dough into golf ball size pieces. Roll the the ball in sesame seeds to coat the surface completely. Roll the ball in your palms lightly to press in the sesame seeds.Repeat until all the balls are formed.

Heat a big wok of oil at medium low heat. Gently drop the sesame ball into the oil for frying. Do not crowd the wok. The sesame balls have to be fried at medium low heat to ensure the dough is cooked thoroughly without burning the outside.The secret in making the sesame balls that expand while frying is to gently press the balls once they float to the surface. The balls will expand as they are gently rotated and pressed. When the balls double in size, you may increase the heat to medium high and fry until golden brown.Place the sesame balls on plate lined with paper towels.

The sesame ball is chewy and nutty by the fragrance of the toasted sesame seeds. Arkensen loves this a lot and I will try to make this at home even though I do not like the idea of deep frying food at home.

Cora, thank you for showing us the technique to make the sesame balls.

Categorized Under: 2006 • Snacks

Tagged Under: Community Kitchen • Glutinous Rice Flour • Kuih • Recipe • Snack