Recipe: Sesame Seed Balls (Jin Doi)

Here's another recipe for Sesame Seed Balls, which we call Jin Doi in Hawaii. They're popular any time of the year as a dessert in dim sum restaurants, but are especially popular for Chinese New Year's.

Susan, Hawaii

Sesame Seed Balls (Jin Doi)

Ingredients:
6 ounces sweet potatoes
10 ounces red bean paste*
1-1/2 cups glutinous rice flour*
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup hot water
2/3 cup sesame seeds
oil for deep-frying

* Sweetened red bean paste is sold in cans in Asian markets. For this recipe, you want the smooth kind, rather than the chunky variety.
* Glutinous rice flour is also available in Asian markets, packaged in small boxes like cornstarch boxes. It's also known as sweet rice flour or mochiko. Blue Star is one reliable brand.

Method:
Peel the sweet potatoes and boil them till tender, then mash them. Sift the glutinous rice flour and flour together then blend together with the sugar and mashed sweet potato. Knead the mixture well and sprinkle in the hot water.
Knead the dough into small balls and then roll each ball into a flat round shape. Spoon some red bean paste onto each as stuffing and knead back into balls. Coat the balls with cold water, then coat thoroughly with sesame seeds.
Deep fry on a low heat until the balls are golden and swollen. Drain and serve.