Snacks & AppetizersSouthEast Asian Desserts

Taro-Coconut Sesame Balls

by Cindy Her
written by Cindy Her
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Nyob Zoo All!

Sesame balls are made and known all over Asia. Made with a variety of different fillings; sweet to savory. The use of glutinous rice flour makes the dough chewy, light, and super crispy. And since sesame balls are usually made with mostly rice flour, water, sugar, and a rising agent, they are gluten free, dairy free and vegan.

While shopping at my local grocery store, I came upon a fully stocked shelf of Taro. What a beauty. Did you know taro is an edible corm? Corms are solid underground bulblike base of a plant. Similar to bulbs but without all the layers. Corms are solid when cut inside. When you cut through a taro, you’ll notice it’s mostly all white flesh with specks of purple fibers. As you cook the taro, the fiber breaks down and gives it the beautiful fairly light lavender color that we’re all familiar with.

Per my mom’s request. She was craving something taro. So I decided to make taro-coconut filled sesame balls and they were super delightful. So enjoy and give it a go! 🙂

Main Ingredients

Glutinous rice flour for the chew, rice flour for the stabilization, potato for the tenderness and moisture.

Filling: Taro root, fresh shredded coconut, coconut cream, sugar and salt
What Taro looks like inside
Use raw unroasted sesame seeds so it doesn’t burn when frying. The raw sesame seeds will roast while it’s in the fryer. You can also use black sesame seeds for color and taste  Potato Flakes to give the dough moister and tenderness.
The dough after it’s done mixing The filling after it’s done mixing. A nice lavender hue.
Roll into 1 tbsp size balls: Total of 35Fill and roll into sesame seeds Fry @ 325’F Golden brown and crispy! Enjoy while it’s still crispy! Look at all that taro coconut filling 🙂 

MUNG BEAN FILLED SESAME BALL VERSION HERE : https://chawjcreations.com/2020/03/18/sesame-balls-w-mung-bean-filling/

ENJOY!

-Cindy Her (C.HerCreations)

Taro-Coconut Sesame Balls

Serves: Makes 35 balls Prep Time: Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
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Ingredients

  • ---FILLING---
  • 1.5 lbs taro (peeled & rough chopped)
  • 4 oz fresh grated coconut (115g) or about 1 cup
  • 1/2 cup sugar (115g)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (1g)
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream (54g)
  • ---DOUGH---
  • 1/2 cup mashed potato flakes* (27g)
  • ½ cup hot water (for the potato flakes) (125ml)
  • 2 cup warm water (500ml)
  • 3/4 cup sugar (150g)
  • 16 oz bag glutinous rice flour (470g)
  • 1 cup rice flour (118g)
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder (15g)
  • 1 tsp salt (8g)
  • ---COATING---
  • 1 cup raw sesame seeds (not roasted) (142g)
  • you can also do half & half of not roasted black sesame seeds & white sesame seeds
  • Oil to fry ( I used about 2 quarts of vegetable oil)

Instructions

FILLING

  1. Peel the taro and rough chop into cubes. Steam for 20 minutes or until it is fork tender. While it's still hot, transfer to a bowl. Add in the sugar and salt. Using a whisk, break the taro apart and incorporate the sugar/salt well. Then add in the coconut cream and mix well. Switch to a spatula and add in the grated coconut and mix well. Allow it to cool completely before forming it into 1 tbsp size ball. (The recipe should make about 35 balls). When cooling, make sure to cover it with plastic wrap touching the filling. This will help not dry out the filling. 

DOUGH

  1. In a bowl, add in the dried potato flakes and 1/2 cups of hot boiling water. Mix well to plump up the potato flakes back to life. Then add in the sugar and 2 cups of warm water. Mix well. Then add in the rice flour, glutenous rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Knead the dough until it becomes a pliable dough (kind of like playdoh). Then divide the dough into 35 equal balls.
  2. Roll each ball flat and add in the taro-coconut filling. Close the edges in and seal well so the filling doesn't pop out. Roll in between the palm of you hands to smooth out the outer dough and then transfer it into the bowl of sesame seeds. Coat it and roll the ball well so the seeds are coated and pressed onto the dough. Continue this until all the dough is filled and coated with sesame seeds. 
FRY
  1. Heat oil to about 325' F. Medium low heat works best for sesame balls to allow them to cook evenly and throughly inside and out. It should take about 10-12 minutes to fully cook the sesame balls throughly. Make sure to turn them often to ensure evenly golden color. Once cooked, drain well and let it cool for 5 minutes before consuming (the inside has lots of steam so be careful when eating). Sesame balls are best eaten the day it's made. 
THINGS TO NOTE: 
Why do I have exploding sesame balls?!
When you fill the sesame balls, make sure there are no air pockets inside. Any air pockets will cause the sesame balls to explode since steam is trying to escape from inside. So when you fill and wrap, make sure to fill in all the gaps/airpockets.
OIL TEMP 
High heat (above 350'F) oil will brown the sesame balls quick. It will brown quick but the inside will not be cooked. So make sure the oil is at a medium low (325'F) so it can allow the sesame balls to cook throughly inside and out. High heat will also cause your sesame balls to explode while frying! Adjust the heat after the sesame balls are in if needed. ? The filling can be made a day before and be used the next day. Stored in the fridge well. 
IF YOU DON'T HAVE POTATO FLAKES? You can use a russet potato and boil it until soft. Drain excess water and get it to a mash potato consistency. Use 1/2 cup of the mash potatoes. DO NOT add the extra 1/2 cup of hot boiling water mentioned above. The 1/2 cup of hot boiling water is only used to revive the potato flakes back to life. The total amount of water for the dough should only be 2 cups if using fresh mashed potatoes. 
STORING
The sesame balls can be stored in the freezer but I suggest storing them after they are fried. Place the already fried/cooled sesame balls in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer for up to no more than 3 months. When you want to reheat, air-fry it to get them crisp or place it in your oven @350 to warm them back up. I recommend using an air-fryer to rewarm them since it does a better job. 🙂

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3 comments

Phet Somchan November 22, 2022 - 2:23 pm

I have not try this but your detailed recipe is greatly appreciated! I can feel that I will certainly succeed from reading it!! Thank you so much! I will try soon!!

Reply
Jubilee Chang May 26, 2024 - 3:52 am

Hi, Cindy.
Have just bumped into your website and loving it.

You’re doing a great job with the Hmong culinary dishes and your own twist of creativity into them, like this one,
Taro-Coconut Sesame Balls and the Ube version.

Going to try they out tomorrow.

Keep up with your creations:)

P.S. It’s a treat to have cute and sweet Grandmama around.

Reply
Cindy Her May 29, 2024 - 2:38 am

Thank you 🙂

Reply

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