Ashley came home for Spring break over the weekend. I decided we should celebrate a belated Lantern Festival (Yuan Xiao, 元宵）with special homemade dumplings. I really meant to make 擂沙汤圆, but the filling did not turn out runny as I had expected. I decided to disguise it as no-fry 煎堆; tastes healthy and awesome without the oil! Another happy discovery from my cooking adventure 🙂

• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 – 15 mins
• Makes 16 dumplings

Ingredients

(A) Black Sesame Filling

• 120g black sesame powder
• 50g sugar
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted

(B) Dough

• 180g sweet glutinous rice flour
• 12g tapioca starch
• 12g wheat starch
• 60g granulated sugar
• 150ml water
• 1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil

(C) Peanut Coating

• 100g peanuts, coarsely grounded
• 25g white sesame seeds, roasted
• 30g sugar

Directions

To prepare peanut coating

1. Mix all ingredients and set aside.

To prepare black sesame filling

1. Mix all ingredients until well blended.
2. Divide into 16 portions and roll each portion into a ball.
3. Keep in refrigerator until dough is ready.

To prepare the dough

1. Sieve glutinous flour, tapioca starch, and wheat starch into a large mixing bowl.
2. Stir in melted butter and water and knead into smooth dough.
3. Divide into 16 portions and roll each portion into a ball.

To prepare the dumplings

1. Flatten each dough ball into a round disc with your finger tips and place a sesame ball in the middle. Wrap the filling with the dough and roll into a smooth ball with your palms, sealing the filling well. Repeat to get all 16 dumplings ready.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
3. Add dumplings to the boiling water; maintain the temperature to keep the water at a rolling-boil. Stir occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Boil until the dumplings float to the surface, continue boiling for another 5 minutes.
4. Scoop the dumplings out with a slotted spoon and roll the dumpling in the peanut coating.
5. Enjoy.