Learn how to make sesame balls (jian dui) from scratch with all the tips you need to know to get maximum result in your very own kitchen. They can be deep-fried or cook in the air fryer for a healthier version.
For peanut filling: Put the roasted peanuts (I bought the peanuts that are already roasted and unsalted). Add honey, small pinch of salt and stir until combined. They will be sticky enough to roll into balls. Lightly oil your palms and roll them into 12 balls
For sweet red bean paste: divide the bean paste into 12 portion. dust your hand with a bit of glutinous rice flour and roll the bean paste into balls
Prepare the dough:
Mix glutinous rice flour, sugar, and small pinch of salt in a bowl. Whisk to mix
Bring about 100 ml of water to a boil and then pour 60 ml into the glutinous rice flour to start with. Use a rubber spatula to stir and mix. It won't be thoroughly mixed yet. When it's not as hot anymore, you need to use your hand to knead the dough. Add the oil and continue to knead into smooth non-sticky dough. If the dough is too sticky, you can add a bit more glutinous rice flour until you can get non-sticky smooth dough. If the dough feels dry, you can add a bit more of the hot water
Shaping:
Roll the dough into a log and then divide into 12 equal small dough balls. Keeping them cover and work with one at a time
Take one ball and use your thumb to make a well in the center of the dough and work on widening the well to fit the filling in there. Put 1 peanut filling ball or 1 red bean paste ball
Gather the edge to enclose. Pinch to seal and then roll the dough ball in between your palms to make it smooth. Make sure the dough ball is smooth with no cracks so the filling won't leak out during filling. If the dough becomes dry when you wrap, dab with a bit of water and you should be able to roll it smooth again. Repeat with the rest
Prepare the flour paste by mixing the flour and water together. Roll one dough into the paste and then roll into the sesame seeds. Repeat with the rest
Deep Frying:
Preheat your fryer with about 3-inches of oil over medium heat. If you put a skewer into the oil and there are bubbles around it, the oil is too hot. Lower the heat and wait for 3-5 minutes before frying
Gently place the sesame balls into the oil. You may need to do this in 2-3 batches. The sesame balls will sink to the bottom at first. Use a spoon to keep them moving and turning them around so they fry evenly and don't get burn in certain spots. When you fry them over low-medium heat, the balls have lower chance of exploding and fry evenly
Once they are crispy on the outside and lightly golden brown, remove and place on an absorbent paper towel
Air-frying:
Preheat your air fryer at 320 F (160 C) for 5 minutes. Brush the jian dui with some oil and put in the air fryer basket. Air fry for about 15 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 350 F (180 C) and air fry for another 15 minutes or until lightly golden brown. The timing is just for reference. Check on them once or twice in between. They should be crispy on the outside and just lightly golden brown
How to store fried sesame balls:
Fried sesame balls can be kept frozen. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Once the fried sesame balls have cooled down completely, place them on the baking sheet, not touching each other and pop them into the freezer for about 1 hour. They won't be completely frozen yet. Transfer to the freezer bag and they won't stick to each other anymore
Reheating fried sesame balls:
They can be reheated in a toaster oven, air fryer, or oven at 350 F for about 10 minutes or until they are crispy again
Video
Notes
Recipe for Homemade Anko (sweet red bean paste) is here. It is possible that the sesame balls might "exploded" when you fry and the filling ooze out. I noticed that this happen when I fried them too long. That is why I recommend not to make big balls as they took longer to fry and chances of exploding is higher