Sesame Balls w/ Ube filling
Ube filled sesame balls
Ingredients
Ube filling
- 1 lb frozen grated ube [454g] (thawed)
- 2 oz grated fresh coconut [60g]
- 1/2 tsp salt [2g]
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk [225g]
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk [64]
- 1 tsp vanilla extract [1g]
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter [optional]
Dough
- 1/2 cup mashed potato flakes* [27g]
- 1/2 cup hot water (for the potato flakes only) [125ml]
- 3/4 cup sugar [150g]
- 16 oz glutinous rice flour [470g]
- 1 cup rice flour [118g]
- 1 Tbsp baking powder [15g]
- 1 tsp salt [8g]
- 2 cup warm water [500ml]
Coating/other
- 1 cup raw sesame seeds [142g]
- 2 quarts vegetable/canola/neutral oil [to fry]
Instructions
Filling
- Add all the ingredients for the filling into a good nonstick pan and let it cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it becomes thick and into a paste like consistency. Remove from the heat before forming them into balls. Once cooled, take about 1.5 Tbsp worth of the filling and form into balls. You can make them big or small depends on you. Any left over unused filling can be frozen in a bag for the next use.
Dough
- 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 30-32 equal balls.
- Roll each ball flat and add in the ube 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
- 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.
Notes
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. 🙂
I DO NOT RECOMMEND freezing them uncooked since the dough will dry out and crack. The filling will also release moisture and find it's way through, which causes the dough to crack. Freezing them uncooked and thawing to fry will also cause your sesame balls to explode! So I don't recommend it.
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