Jian Dui (Fried Sesame Balls)
Published May 20, 2025
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus 30 minutes’ resting
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour, plus 30 minutes’ resting
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups/340 grams glutinous rice flour, see Tip
- ¼teaspoon fine salt
- 1cup boiling water
- ⅓cup granulated sugar
- 1heaping cup sweetened red bean paste, see Tip
- ½cup raw white sesame seeds
- 6cups vegetable oil, for frying
Nutritional analysis per serving (18 servings)
186 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 49 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a large bowl, combine rice flour with salt and mix with a rubber spatula. Separately, add 1 cup of boiling water to a heatproof measuring cup. Stir in sugar and mix until dissolved. Slowly pour hot sugar water into the flour mixture, folding with the spatula until no dry patches remain. The dough will now have the consistency and shine of a very soft saltwater taffy. Continue to work the dough inside the bowl for 2 more minutes, using the spatula to fold the dough, lifting from one side and pressing into the center. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Set a wire rack over a baking sheet and set aside. Place the red bean paste in a small bowl. Pour sesame seeds into a dish. Dust both hands with rice flour. Scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough (it will be tacky and soft) and roll into a ball, then flatten between your hands to form a circle that just fits inside your palm (about 3 inches wide).
- Step 3
Add a teaspoon of red bean paste to the center of the dough. With floured fingers, fold the sides onto the red bean dollop, pinching the top to seal. Now cradle the dough ball between your cupped hands, and lightly roll the top hand in tiny circles until the dough ball smooths and becomes perfectly round. (It’s OK if some of the red bean paste peeks through.)
- Step 4
Place a dough ball in the dish of sesame seeds and roll until completely speckled; transfer to a plate. Repeat to form remaining balls; you should have enough dough for 16 to 18 sesame balls. You can make them up to 3 hours in advance; just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- Step 5
When ready to fry the jian dui, pour oil into a Dutch oven or other large, heavy-bottomed pot and attach an instant-read or candy thermometer to the side. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees. If some of the sesame balls have flattened and lost their shape, reroll them while the oil heats.
- Step 6
Use a spider skimmer or slotted spoon to lower half the sesame balls into the hot oil and cook until light golden brown, about 6 minutes. During the first few minutes of cooking, keep moving the balls with the spider skimmer to prevent them from touching the bottom of the pot (eventually, the balls will float to the surface). Adjust the heat as needed to ensure the oil stays around 350 degrees.
- Step 7
Transfer the first batch to a wire rack and let cool. Repeat to fry the second batch.
- Step 8
Serve jian dui warm or at room temperature on the same day they’re fried.
- Glutinous rice flour can be found in any Asian supermarket. This recipe was developed using the Erawan brand of glutinous rice flour, identified by its green elephant logo, so for best results, seek out that variety. Glutinous rice flour may also be labeled as “sweet rice flour” and found in some Western supermarkets under the Mochiko brand.
- Sweet red bean paste is made from adzuki beans and comes in cans, jars or in a sealed bag. For this recipe, you can also substitute sweet lotus seed paste.
Private Notes
Comments
This one we sure would appreciate a video of the assemblage & frying process!
Needs a recipe for red bean paste.
@Rocky Put dried red beans directly into a pot and add just enough water to barely cover them because too much water prevents proper paste formation then boil them for fifteen minutes which fully cooks all small beans and drain the remaining water since the flavor has already moved into the beans then add sugar at a one to one ratio by volume and stir immediately so it dissolves into the centers then mash the beans right away while they are still firm because structure is needed for smooth paste and keep cooking the mashed mixture on high heat until it stops sticking which means it is finished and if it seems dry add a little cold water at the end to activate the natural bean starch and let it set off the heat where it will thicken into red bean paste ready to use
Made these and loved them! Had some trouble with the dough sticking to my hands and certainly didn’t get them perfectly round as suggested, the dough was a bit too soft for that. Should I have let it sit for the half hour in the fridge, or less liquid? Would love some tips, thanks!
My hubby saw these over my shoulder as he often reads my phone when I’m on it and he said these look yummy. They look like a little doughnut bowls so I said OK hubby I’ll make them for you all. I have to say first is donate these on a full tummy because you’ll feel sick because they’re quite heavy and dense in a good way they got the perfect glue like texture which hobby loves the only problem is the sesame seeds which hubby hates when he saw the picture he didn’t realize that these were sesame seed bowls, not doughnut, bowls, unfortunately after I made them, he took a bite and he was very upset. The outside is crispy, but the inside is chewy, which is good, but then the because it’s like a doughnut, but then you get hit with a bowl of sesame seeds and it gets all up in your teeth and it’s not very good especially when you eat it on a full tummy my tummy was so full that it gave me the stabbing pains ouch and then after I had out a standard Sunday dinner, spaghetti, lasagna, lasagna, and potatoes. We have these for dessert and it was too much food when I looked at myself in the mirror I looked like I had a distended tummy. It was too much no thank you NUT!
Could these be baked?
@Captain Wendy I would not bake these. The hot oil is essential to making the hollow crust around the soft center. I could *maybe* see air frying them, but they would be misshapen and not have the same flavor.