October 16, 2014
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Sesame Balls.
Yesterday, one of my many aunts WhatsApp me a picture of sesame dotted golden-brown balls of a snack, and followed by a question “do you want these?”
I was like… “YES!”
Then she had them sent my way, right before lunchtime. Perfect.
And what did she send me? THESE…
A box full of them. Freshly fried.
These little guys are what we call Cin Toi, or Jin Dui, depending on how you would like to pronounce the name. Locally, they are also knows as Kue Bola Wijen, literally means sesame ball cake.
Chinese in origin, cin toi is made of white glutinous rice flour, stuffed with sweetened tau-sa (bean paste), rolled in white sesame seeds, and then deep-fried until golden brown. Little fried balls of beany happiness.
When freshly made like these ones I got, they are simply irresistible. At the first bite, you’ll hear and feel the resistance of the soft crispy-like texture of the outer skin. It is an instant signal to the brain saying ‘comfort food’.
Then your teeth would find themselves digging deep into the soft inner skin and the hollowness of the interior. This hollowness is part of the sublime experience. As you bite into the fried ball greedily, the round shape of the ball starts to deflate and that’s when your teeth notice the chewy texture of the inner wall.
Next comes the sweetness of the bean paste filling. This sweetness complements that of the fried flavor of the rice dough. As you continue chewing, your taste buds start to notice also the smell of toasted sesame seeds, made aromatic from being deep fried.
Unlike most people, however, I am not a big fan of beans, so I tend to take the bean paste filling out.
I’m quite happy with just the skin. It is, after all, what makes this snack addictive in the first place. Crispy, chewy, and fried. What could be better? Oh, I know. Fried sesame balls with icy cold beer! When these babies are freshly out from the wok and still piping hot, nothing like a cold beer to cool down the throat from the heat of the crispy chewy fried skin.
YUM.
Comments (4)
I’ve had these before. I like your description.
I like these too especially with the bean paste filling. The only thing I don’t like are the sesame seeds sticking in my teeth.
thank you
lol. if we ever hang out and eat these babies, i’ll let you have the filling while i munch on the mochi skin with sesame seeds.