Sweet potato sesame balls (2024)

Sesame balls are a type of fried Chinese pasty snack popular in many regions of China. They are sweetened glutinous rice balls covered with sesame seeds, deep-fried to a crispy texture outside with a gooey inside. I often alter the classic recipe for sesame balls by using cooked sweet potato as the main ingredient.

Cook the sweet potatoes

There are many ways to cook sweet potatoes. My favourite way is to bake them whole in the oven. It’s time-consuming but it somehow adds creaminess and a slightly smoky flavourwhich I adore very much.

1. Before placing into the oven, don’t forget to pierce the sweet potatoes (without peeling) several times with a fork or a knife. Otherwise, they might explode during baking (and ruin your clean oven!)
2. It takes about 45 – 60 mins to cook (at 200°C / 400°F / Gas 6) depending on the size of your sweet potatoes.
3. If there is no resistance when inserting a fork into the centre, it’s fully cooked. Peel off the skin when cold enough to handle, then mash with a fork.

If you prefer steaming the sweet potatoes, I suggest you peel and cut them into small cubes. This will greatly reduce the cooking time. A pressure cooker or instant pot also is very handy for this task.

Make the perfect dough

The dough for classic sesame balls is made of glutinous rice flour, sugar and water. For my sweet potato version of sesame balls, there is no water needed as sweet potatoes naturally contain water.

• To make 12 sesame balls, I use 260g / 9oz cooked sweet potato and 110g / 4oz glutinous rice flour.
• Please be aware that the ratio may vary slightly depending on the water content of the sweet potatoes.
• Add in glutinous rice flour gradually and adjust accordingly. The finished dough should be soft but does not stick to your hands.

Depending on your personal taste, you may alter the amount of sugar in the recipe. If you wish, you can skip the sugar altogether. The natural sweetness from sweet potatoes might be enough for those who don’t have a sweet tooth or wish to reduce/avoid their sugar intake.

Coat evenly with sesame seeds

Sesame seed is the soul of Chinese sesame balls. Its powerful fragrance and nuttiness make this snack super irresistible. Like the that I shared earlier, you just can’t stop eating it!

Remember to use raw sesame seeds (not toasted) for this recipe. Otherwise, they will be overcooked after deep-frying, therefore, leaving an unpleasant burning flavour. Here are my three steps to ensure an even, firm coating of sesame seeds over the dough balls (please refer to the video in the recipe card below).

1. Mix a little glutinous rice flour with water. Wet the dough ball in the mixture completely.
2. Place the ball in a bowl filled with raw sesame seeds. Shake the bowl in a circular motion to allow the ball to roll around in the seeds.
3. Take the ball out when it’s fully covered with seeds. Press gently with the palm of your hands to firm up the coating.

Control the oil temperature

Now it’s time to deep fry the sesame balls. To ensure success, it’s crucial to follow the recommended temperature. I suggest that you use a kitchen thermometer (inexpensive but very handy) if you are not experienced at deep-frying.

• Heat up the oil over high heat. Turn it down to medium once the temperature reaches 125°C / 250°F (It’s quite low compare to deep-frying of other food, eg. Chinese doughnut sticks (油条) which requires 180°C / 356°F to start).
• When placed in the oil, the sesame balls stay at the bottom of the cookware. You can see tiny bubbles gently appear around the balls.
• I fry 6 balls at a time. It takes about 6 minutes to finish. During the process, you will see the balls slowly rising up. When they reach the surface, push them down from time to time to help achieve an even colour. They are done once you see (between the gaps of the seeds) the dough turns bright orange.
• If you deep fry the balls in batches as I do, do not cook the second batch straightaway! You need to wait for the oil to cool down to 125°C / 250°F. This is often a neglected point that causes problems.

Add a sweet filling

Apart from plain ones, Chinese sesame balls can be filled with sweet filling too. Red bean paste, black sesame paste and peanut paste are popular choices.

If you do so, make sure the filling is very well sealed inside the wrapper without any cracks. Otherwise, the filling might leak out during deep-frying which would cause oil to splash.

Serve & Store

It’s best to enjoy sweet potato sesame balls when they are hot. They will lose the lovely crispiness when left for a few hours, but they will still be very tasty!

You can store uncooked balls in the freezer for up to a month. Leave to thaw in the fridge then fry them the normal way.