Sesame Ball

Sesame Ball (Simplified Chinese: 芝麻球; also 煎堆; Pinyin: Zhīmá qiú; Cantonese: jin deui) is a deep-fried glutinous-rice pastry rolled in sesame seeds; many versions expand hollow or hold sweet bean or lotus paste. It appears in Dim Sum and festive Chinese Snack contexts.

Characteristics

Exterior is crisp and sesame-fragrant; interior is chewy and often sweet. Proper frying puffs the ball without collapsing.

Ingredients (overview)

Glutinous rice flour, water, sesame seeds, oil for frying, optional sweet filling (red bean, lotus seed paste). Sugar may appear in dough or filling.

History and culture

Linked to southern Chinese New Year and yum cha trays; related fried sticky-rice sweets appear across southern China. See Dim Sum and Chinese Snack.

Serving and variations

As dim sum or festival snack. See Dim Sum, Egg Waffle, and Chinese Snack.

See also

• Dim Sum
• Chinese Snack
• Egg Waffle
• Nian Gao
• List of dishes (A-Z)