“SO WHAT DOES
THE LETTER ‘Q’ TASTE LIKE?”
I. Love. This. Stuff.
Everybody, girls especially, who has or shares an Asian background, loves this stuff. This stuff is so popular it’s practically in the freezer section in every respectable Asian grocery stores, big or small. This stuff is so unstoppable, that although originally meant to be eaten on a single Chinese holiday only, now is enjoyed all year round. People look for excuses to eat this stuff. Given that it’s warm, soft and sweet, it’s a comfort food for the mentally wounded. But then again, given that it’s a circle which symbolizes “wholeness” and “content”, it’s a must-item in Chinese weddings, too. Boyfriend dumped you, you eat this stuff. Getting hitched, you eat this stuff. You see what I mean?
This stuff is called tang-yuan (literally soup-circles), aka sticky rice balls.
Why do Asians love sticky rice balls so much? To add to your confusion, it all comes down the mystery of one single alphabetical letter – “Q“.
Asians love stuffs that are “Q“, and this, this is “very Q“.
I’m sorry, what the fuck am I talking about? I mean what does the letter “Q” taste like anyways! What does any letter taste like? But somehow, a particular, soft, slippery and chewy texture associated with things usually made with sticky rice flour, or tapioca flour ended up being tagged with the letter “Q”. And the only lacking but however upmost sincere answer I can give you is, perhaps because the letter Q looks like a ball… bouncing… happily… Q~ Q~. You see that? No? Well, that’s the best I’m ever gonna get.
But enough Sesame Street. Let’s talk about real sesames.
First of all it’s important to know that there are many applications with sticky rice balls. They come petite and cute like tiny gnocchi (like here!), served in sweet dessert soups made with red beans or etc. They come fried and drenched in peanut sugar, served as previously mentioned, a popular good-omen wedding desserts. They even come savoury, stuffed with ground pork and served in hot broth flavoured with fried shallots, Chinese celery and white pepper. But the most notorious of them all, the one ball to rule them all is, zhi-ma tang-yuan. Large sticky rice balls stuffed with sweet and molten black sesame pastes.
That stuff is crazy, like your-heart-may-lack-brightness-and-cheer-if-you-didn’t-like-it kind of crazy. You sink your teeth in an ivory-white pillow of mystery (QQ!), and outbursts a steam of black lava that fills your taste buds with explosive black sesame-ness. Crazy. So understandably, on the eve of this Chinese New Year, when all stores big or small were closed on us (yes, you can buy this almost anywhere especially here…), we found our legs anxiously twitching for this stuff. And so, I made my own. Well, sort of.
Oh you think it’s just rubbing sticky rice flour and water together? Oh no. Don’t be rude. There’s knowledge and wisdom in making a good sticky rice dough, which is elaborately explained in the recipe. But more importantly, this is not zhi-ma tang-yuan you say. It’s… inverted. Well yes, yes it is. Why, because did I mention I can literally buy the original stuff downstair (and so can you from every Chinatown)? So it’s only logical that I make a home-friendly version, a I-need-this-like-now-!-version, that is 80% texturally and 99% flavour-wise identical to the original stuff which has filling that involves lard and a substantial amount of chilling. See? It’s a very realistic circumstance, perhaps the only kind, that I’d imagine you’ll be under when you actually want to make your own (or… if you live in the middle of nowhere and strongly disagrees, then we’ll talk later…).
And yes, you’ll want to make your own. There’s something very settling in know that I’ll always be in close proximity with these shiny and slippery balls swirling in a lava of black sesames, soft… chewy… and slides down my throat like silk. It’s kind of security that only a fancy home-alarm system can provide, except that this tastes delicious. Oh yes, I’m afraid the best way to explain is, it’s very QQ.
Servings: 4 to 5
I like sticky rice flour from Thailand (and believe me they know their sticky rice), but Bob’s Red Mill makes them, too (although I’ve never used them so I can’t say if they are exactly the same). Isn’t it crazy nowadays everything’s available online… By the way, the other name “glutinous rice” (which I’ve used before…) is very misleading as all rices are actually, gluten-free.
So, why use hot water first, then cold water for the dough? Because sticky rice flour is gluten-free and therefore will not “bond” like wheat flour does with water. The hot water is meant to slightly cook the sticky rice flour, so a cohesive dough can be formed. Otherwise with just cold water, the dough will break apart easily like “chalk” and crack when it’s frozen. But, now that we already have a cohesive dough, why cook a small part of dough then knead it back into the mother-dough? OK, you actually don’t have to do this, but the more you knead a cooked sticky rice-dough, the more “QQ/chewy” it gets! And we like QQ! It will only take you 5 minutes tops, but will overall improve the texture and elasticity of your sticky rice balls.
Ingredients:
- Sticky rice balls:
- 1 1/2 cup (180 grams) of sticky rice flour (this is my go-to brand), plus extra for dusting
- 1/4 cup (33 grams) of powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (100 grams) of simmering water
- 2 1/2 tbsp (35 grams) of vegetable oil
- 1~2 tbsp of cold water
- Black sesame sugar: (this is more than you’ll need but keep the extra in the fridge for next time)
- 1/2 cup (65 grams) of black sesame seeds
- 1/2 cup (95 grams) of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (95 grams) of dark brown sugar
To make the black sesame sugar: I’ve talked about toasting black sesame seeds in a skillet before, and this time we’re gonna do it in the oven.
Preheat the oven 400ºF/200ºC. Rinse the black sesames clean under running water (because they can be sandy sometimes), drain well then scatter them on a baking sheet. Spread them out as evenly as your can, then place inside the oven. Every 3~4 min, stir them with a spoon to ensure even heating (the water should completely evaporate in a few min), and toast for 15 ~ 17 min. You can’t tell if they are browned or not so the best way to check is to rub a seed in between your fingers. If the seed only breaks off its skin but doesn’t “shatter”, it needs more time. But if the seed crushes and shatters easily into small grains, and smells nutty and fragrant, then it’s done. They will also kind of smoke up a bit in the end, too. Once the seeds are properly toasted, immediately transfer to a cool plate to prevent burning.
Let the seeds cool off completely, then mix it with the granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. In two batches (crowding will risk turning the mixture into sesame butter), grind/pulse the mixture in a spice grinder (or this trick!) until finely ground. The mixture should resemble super-fine cornmeals. Coarsely ground black sesames can be unpleasant in texture. Keep the mixture in an air-tight container in the fridge until needed.
To make the sticky rice balls: Mix sticky rice flour and powdered sugar inside a large bowl. Bring a pot of water to a simmer (you should see bubbles going up fast from the sides/bottom of the pot but isn’t boiling yet). Pour 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (or 100 grams to make your life easier!) of hot water into the flour mixer, and stir with a fork. You should see large and small lumps throughout but no dough yet. Once it’s cooled enough to handle, add the vegetable oil and 1 tbsp of cold water, then knead the dough together with your hand. The dough should have just enough moisture to be soft, smooth and pliable, but not sticky. If it’s too dry and hard to come together, add another 1/2 tbsp ~ 1 tbsp of water. If it’s sticking to your hand, add a bit more sticky rice flour.
Break 1/5 of the dough off and pat it into a flat disk (for faster cooking). Microwave that small piece of dough on high for 40~50 seconds (watch it while you do it) until it’s cooked and become semi-translucent (it will expand in the microwave then deflate once you remove it). The cooked dough will be ver hot, so work it back into the mother-dough with a fork first. Once cooled enough to handle, knead the entire dough until very smooth, and that the cooked dough is completely incorporated back. Again, the dough shouldn’t be sticky. If it is at this point, work in a bit more sticky rice flour into it.
You can wrap the dough with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Rolle a piece of the dough into a long strip, then cut into small segments about 1 tsp each (you should be careful not to make them too big otherwise they won’t cook properly), then roll each segments into small balls. If not cooking immediately, roll them in some sticky rice flour and keep frozen in an air-tight bag (no need to defrost before cooking). Bring a pot of water to boil, then add the sticky rice balls. Stir them gently to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot, and keep the water boiling on medium heat. Lots of people say they’re done when they float to the top of the water, but I disagree. I think they need 2 min more (3 min if cooking straight from the freezer) after they float to the top, and are done when they swell up in size (about 1/3 bigger than the original size), otherwise they’ll be dense and doughy to chew.
Once done, remove them with a slotted spoon. Add a few tbsp of black sesame sugar on top and mix. The sugar will melt and become thick and saucy (I kept the black sesame sugar cornstarch-free because I want it to be application-friendly (to sprinkle on pancakes for example), but if you want it thicker when it melts, add 1/4 tsp of cornstarch to every 1 tbsp of black sesame sugar before adding the hot sticky rice balls). Serve immediately.
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38 responses to “INSIDE-OUT BLACK SESAME STICKY RICE BALLS”
LOVE this. They are just like cute, sweet gnocchi and much pretty and easier to make than trying to stuff inside the tang yuan. Little mouthfuls but bigger bowls I say.
I think we love the letter Q because it makes for the hardest to pronounce words in any language. Trust the Asians to make language more difficult than it is….
My dad adores these little gluttonous balls. I can not wait to give this a go for him.
YES yes YES yes YES! THIS! Do I have to try to form words with this comment..? Because. It might be impossible. THIS. I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS. It looks so good. Need to make it ASAP. OK, that’s all I can manage. aaahhhhhhh
i think i need to hand in my asian card because i’m not a fan of sticky rice balls (or sticky balls).
can we still be friends though?
PS. my husband though. he digs this kind of stuff. his current obsession is bubble tea. i just did a quick search to see if you have a recipe for tapioca balls. this is my not so subtle attempt at asking you if you have a recipe for it…
How the heck are you posting all the things I really want to eat right now this week. THIS LOOK SO GOOD.
LOVE TANGYUAN! I don’t typically like sweet stuff but I LOVE tangyuan!
but i found a lot of Caucasians don’t like “Q” stuff. my friends found the texture is weird.
BELINDA: Wow, I rarely hear that a more “matured” male liking this stuff!
CYNTHIA: I knew you’d love it!
LAN: Hahaha, I’m obsessed with bubble tea, too. But I’m pretty sure the commercial tapioca balls have their great texture because of some chemical stuff they add to it… not that it’ll stop me from drinking..
COCO: Yes, that’s correct. “Q” is something you have to grow up with I guess. Caucasians thinks it’s weird and beyond their vocabulary ability to explain this texture.
How would you suggest cutting down the sugar in these? Also, I see in some recipes that they add either grounded peanuts or walnuts in the tang yuan… Any ideas on how it can be integrated?
MICHELLE: Yes you can cut down the sugar but, the sugar helps the sesame to stay dry during grinding, and you may find the sesame almost turning into paste if not enough sugar is present. But then again, it will melt later anyways so maybe you can just prepare a sweetened black sesame paste?
I love sticky rice balls, and anything with sweet black sesame—yum! (I had no idea that this was something that girls especially liked though… : )
I also think this is insanely clever to make them inside-out instead of bothering with stuffing them and chilling the dough, etc. I can only imagine how much MORE long and detailed your awesome instructions would need to be for the NON-inside-out version! But this looks tasty and perfect just the way it is. It reminds me of sweet peanut soup a little, which sometimes has sticky rice balls like those!
These are beautiful–I love the contrast between the black sugar and the white rice balls! I have been meaning to make sticky rice balls since I saw a recipe for them on use real butter a couple of years ago. She stuffed them with red bean paste and served them in a sweet ginger broth. I love sweet red bean and black sesame. So shit, now I need to try these two ways!
Not to be that annoying person butttt…COULD I stuff these rice balls if I really wanted to? Would the sesame sugar have to be made into a paste before being stuffed? Could this dough stand up to be stuffed + boiled? Because I LOVE stuffed things/stuffing things, but if you don’t think that’s as doable…I can also get down with these (YOU’RE AMAZING).
ERIKA, hahah you are not at all annoying! Although it would be hard to stuff because the sugar is in powder form. Try grinding the black sesame further into a paste, then sweeten it with sugar, then chill it to firm up. I would imagine that to be more stuffable! Good luck!
Oh that’s smart! I actually stuffed the black sesame sugar into pancakes before I saw this, but I am def going to try the paste-stuffing thing too in the future :) Thanks!!
These. Are. The. Best. I cannot wait to try making them at home!! Love your posts!
Well, i guess I’m not QQ because I’ve never had a sticky rice ball, though I have seen a sticky rice ball. Next time I go to an Asian grocery I will look for a sticky rice ball in the freezer section. I will then try sticky rice ball. And if I love sticky rice ball, maybe I will make sticky rice ball. If not, I will just admire your gorgeous photos that maybe in my imagination ,could be filled with chocolate!
made this with a friend and we couldn’t stop eating it.
practically licked the bowl clean.
GENIUS
http://web.stagram.com/p/664627712627136303_251365340
when i die, please sprinkle my grave generously with the leftover sesame sugar
thanks!.
Can I use this dough for the filled tang yuan as well? Thanks!
JOSEPHINE, yes!! You absolutely can!
Thanks for the quick reply! I think I need some tips for working this recipe. I wanted to try yours because 1) it uses oil vs just water 2) you incorporate part of the cooked dough back in 3) they look amazingly delicious. I ended up making the dough twice and both times I felt like it was incredibly oily. I used less oil the second time. The cooked portion of the dough was very stiff after it cooled even though I had worked in into the mother dough so I had these really hard chunks I had to remove. The dough itself was oil but also cracked easily. I tried adding more flour but that didn’t solve the problem. I also tried adding more water with the second batch but got the same results. I admit I don’t have much experience making tang yuan dough but the dough I’ve made with just water and rice flour have turned out well if just a bit dry. I’d love to get your input on what I can try different next time.
What kind of sticky rice-flour are you using? OK, first thing first, the dough is and should be a bit oily. You will probably have oil on your hands when you’re kneading and shaping it afterwards.
Secondly, it sounds like you’ve overcooked the cooked-dough (which I have done before as well). I guess every microwave is different… try to microwave it for 30 seconds only, and cover it this time to prevent drying.
Thirdly, it sounds like the dough is too dry. You can adjust/add as much water to the dough JUST UP TO THE POINT BEFORE it gets sticky. The dough should be soft and pliable.
Last note, you should cook the tang yuan until they swell/plump up in the cooking water, like almost doubled or at least 30% bigger than original size. Undercooked tang yuan will be doughy and hard. But I’m afraid they all tend to get tough when they’re cold…
I’m using the same one that you have a link to in your recipe. It’s actually the only one I know of aside for the Japanese brand sweet glutinous rice. Ok, so the cooked dough should not have hard spots right? I guess to be certain it’s cooked through I can boil it. The hard pieces I pulled out were from the cooked dough I re-incorporated into the mother dough. It cooked up ok in the water after I pulled all the hard pieces out. When you roll yours out, are there no cracks? I guess I need to add even more water than I anticipated. The dough just seemed to get more oily and not less cracked with more water. Thanks!
JOSEPHINE: Another thing that comes to mind is perhaps the hot/simmering water in the beginning of the process wasn’t hot enough. It needs to partially cook the dough so the dough doesn’t crack later (because sticky rice flour doesn’t have gluten to bond with water). Pour the simmering water DIRECTLY into the flour and stir.
You give recommendations for products you use. Do you have one for black sesame seeds? Thanks
Natashya, I don’t know a specific brand of black sesame.. But I’m sure there’s plenty of choices online or amazon, and I believe they should be relatively the same. Good luck!
Just came across this…. HELLS YES! Finally someone online shares the same passion for black sesame balls as me =] My boyfriend sadly didn’t like these (lame), but I will definitely try making this homemade black sesame paste one day ^^, QQ.
Hi, I don’t have glutinous rice flour, but glutinous rice powder which is not as fine. Is it possible to use that instead?Also, I don’t have a microwave, are there any other means of cooking the dough?
Rhe8a, I’ve never heard of glutinous rice powder before… So I can’t say. But give it a try and maybe it works the same. If you don’t have microwave, you can steam the dough for a few min.
Please, please please post a savoury version using these rice balls!! I didn’t know there was a savoury version. I need that!
I used your sticky rice ball recipe for my Hakka soup, omitting the sugar of course. The oil adds a certain chewiness and softness to it that the old traditional recipe sans oil does not. And using a food processor helped tremendously.
Looks amazing! I can’t wait to try this recipe! One question… do I have to do the microwave step? I don’t have a microwave. : )
Thanks!
Amy, you can also steam it. Or boiling it, although that may increase its moisture content for this recipe. There’s another sticky rice ball post that’s more straight forward. Search “Peanut butter sticky rice balls”, then omit the filling if you want.
Thank you, Mandy!!!! I made the sesame sugar already and it’s so amazing!!! Have you doubled or tripled this recipe before? I know one batch will not be enough for my family! Happy Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!! All the best to you and your family in this new year!
What shall we do when we don’t have a microwave?? :(
Oops, sorry.. Just scrolled up and found the answer! Thanks~ :D
Does the letter “Q” describes this texture in multiple Asian languages? I thought only in Taiwanese.
You can do pork buns and braised pork belly, can you reclaim the throne back from various usurpers and do the Walter White Qua Bao?
Alison, I think “Q” as “chewy” is only used by Taiwanese yeah. I’m not sure I understand the questions… I did post a Pork bun recipe but with braised chicken. You can find it by searching “gua bao” :)
So late to the party as usual…. I am drooling on the picture. Mandy you know for traditional Shanghainese tang yuan, we add lard into sesame. I rarely see this now days, but it taste better than just sesame. Because lard is pretty much just bacon fat and we all know bacon make everything better.