Glutinous Rice Balls
These are glutinous rice balls that are filled with brown sugar, toasted sesame seeds & peanuts. They're coated with grated coconut on the outside to give it a little bit of texture.
Ingredients
For the brown sugar-toasted sesame seeds-peanut filling
- 1 cup brown sugar (198g)
- 1 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (9g)
- 1 Tbsp toasted black sesame seeds (25g)
- 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts (25g)
- 1 Tbsp honey (21g)
For the grated coconut coating (enough for the 4 color batch)
- 12 oz freshly grated coconut (I used frozen (fresh) grated coconut) (Thaw before use)
- 1/4 tsp salt (2g)
For the pandan leaf powder version (color green)
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 18 grams rice flour (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 2 Tbsp pandan leaf powder (16g) (I used Suncore Foods version)
- 150 grams HOT cooked plain mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup HOT boiling water (118ml)
Alternative recipe if you don't have pandan leaf powder
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 18 grams rice flour (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 150 grams HOT cooked plain mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup HOT boiling water (118ml)
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp pandan extract (depending how strong you want it)
For the Ube version (color purple)
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 18 grams rice flour (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 150 grams frozen grated purple yam (ube) [THAWED] (I used Simex brand)
- 3/4 cup water (177ml)
For the sweet potato version (color orange)
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 18 grams rice flour (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 150 grams COOKED & HOT mashed sweet potatoes
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp HOT boiling water
For the Kabocha or pumpkin version (color yellow)
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 18 grams rice flour (2 Tbsp)
- 5 grams sugar (1 tsp)
- 2 grams salt (1/4 tsp)
- 150 grams COOKED & HOT mashed kabocha squash or pumpkin
- 1 Tbsp boiling water (as needed) (you can always add or not add more depending on how the dough feels)
Instructions
For the brown sugar-toasted sesame seeds-peanut filling
- In a mortar in pestle, add in the toasted sesame seeds and peanuts. Pound until the sesame seeds and peanuts are grounded just to you liking. Add it into a bowl along with the brown sugar and honey. Mix well and set aside. This filling will make enough for 4-5 color batches of dough with a little leftover depending how much you fill.
For the grated coconut coating (enough for 4 color batches)
- Mix well and set aside.
For the pandan leaf powder version (color green)
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Then add in the HOT cooked plain mashed potatoes and hot boiling water. Mix well with a spatula first before going in with your hands. The hot water and hot mashed potatoes will help bind the dough together better than using cold water/cold mash potato. So the dough will be hot when kneading so be careful or wear cooking gloves to help you out as needed. When the dough becomes pliable (kinda like Playdoh), wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Set it aside until you're ready to use it.
Alternative recipe if you don't have pandan leaf powder
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the pandan extract into the hot water and mix well. Add the hot pandan water and the HOT cooked plain mashed potatoes into the dry. Mix well with a spatula first before going in with your hands. The hot water and hot mashed potatoes will help bind the dough together better than using cold water/cold mash potato. So the dough will be hot when kneading so be careful or wear cooking gloves to help you out as needed. When the dough becomes pliable (kinda like Playdoh), wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Set it aside until you're ready to use it.
For the Ube version (color purple)
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In a small pot, add in the thawed grated ube and water. Cook on medium low heat until it thickens and bubbles. Pour immediately into the dry. Mix well with a spatula first before going in with your hands. The hot ube mixture will help bind the dough together better. So the dough will be hot when kneading so be careful or wear cooking gloves to help you out as needed. When the dough becomes pliable (kinda like Playdoh), wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Set it aside until you're ready to use it.
For the sweet potato version (color orange)
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Peel and diced the sweet potato and boil it in water until soften. Mashed well and measure out 150grams to be used. Make sure to add it into the dry HOT. Add in the boiling hot water as well. Mix well with a spatula first before going in with your hands. The hot mixture will help bind the dough together better. So the dough will be hot when kneading so be careful or wear cooking gloves to help you out as needed. When the dough becomes pliable (kinda like Playdoh), wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Set it aside until you're ready to use it.
For the Kabocha or pumpkin version (color yellow)
- Place all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Steam the kabocha squash or pumpkin until soft. Mashed well and measure out 150grams to be used. Make sure to add it into the dry HOT. Mix well with a spatula first before going in with your hands. Add 1 Tbsp HOT water as needed if the dough is too dry. The moisture of the dough will really depend on how watering the pumpkin and or kabocha is. So adjust the water as needed when you're kneading the dough. The hot mixture will help bind the dough together better. So the dough will be hot when kneading so be careful or wear cooking gloves to help you out as needed. When the dough becomes pliable (kinda like Playdoh), wrap it in plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. Set it aside until you're ready to use it.
FILLING AND COOKING THE BALLS
- For each color dough, take about 1 Tbsp of the dough, roll with the palm of your hands a little flat. Fill and press well with about 1/2 tsp of the brown sugar filling in the center. Seal the sides tight to cover up the filling. Roll with the palm of your hand to make a smooth rounded ball, making sure they're no cracks. Repeat until all the dough is filled and used up.
- Boiled the balls in hot simmering water. I cooked all these colored rice balls in two separate batches so I didn't overcrowd the pot. Try not to cook in extremely boiling water as it can cause the balls to burst with all that water pressure. So keep the water at a good simmer (at the state where it's almost going to boil) so the balls can cook well. Move the balls gently with a spatula so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. It'll cook for about 4-5 minutes until you'll notice it starts floating to the top. Once it floats to the top, allow it to cook for another 2-3 minutes before removing them with a spider. Place it onto a tray and allow it to slightly cool for 1 minute before dipping each cooked rice balls into the freshly grated coconut. Coat well and set it on a serving dish. You might get some bursting rice balls and that's totally normal so don't panic! Enjoy them slightly warm or best at room temp!
Notes
These are best the day they're made. Adding potato and or other starches keeps the dough soft and doesn't harden as quickly as it sits in room temp or as it cools. You can place them in the fridge if you can't finish eating them but they will harden since the fridge is colder and because they're made with rice flour (rice always hardens when refrigerated). Feel free to steam it to get it soft again. I don't really like to microwave them as they can burst.
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