Sweet Rice Sesame-Peanut Dumplings with Coconut
2 min readSoft and chewy on the outside, sweet and crunchy on the inside, these delightful dumplings are best served shortly after steaming. For easy entertaining, the raw dumplings can be refrigerated up to 24 hours before steaming and rolling in the coconut. Make sure you purchase glutinous rice flour, also known as sweet rice flour, and not regular rice flour; the former is made from short-grain sticky rice, which creates the essential chewiness of the dumplings.
MAKES 12 DUMPLINGS
1⁄4 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3 cups glutinous rice flour
2⁄3 cup boiling water
1⁄2 cup plus
2 tablespoons cold water (10 tablespoons)
1⁄2 cup shredded sweetened coconut, or more, as needed
6 candied cherries or citron, halved (optional)
In a small bowl, combine the peanuts, sugar, and sesame seeds; set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the rice flour and boiling water, mixing until thoroughly combined. Add the cold water and mix until the dough forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a long cylinder and cut into 12 equal pieces. Cover with the damp towel. Roll each piece of dough into a 31⁄2-inch circle, re-covering as you finish to prevent from drying out. Place 2 teaspoons of the peanut-sesame mixture in the center of each circle; wrap up to form a smooth ball, pinching the edges of the dough together to seal. Re-cover with the damp towel. (At this point, the prepared dumplings can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 24 hours before continuing with the recipe. For best results, store seam sides up, to prevent leakage of filling.) Place a steaming basket in a medium stockpot set over about 11⁄2 inches of water. Line the basket with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking oil. Working in batches, if necessary, place the dumplings in a single layer in the steaming basket, away from the edge, leaving about 1⁄2-inch space between each dumpling. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium, cover tightly, and steam 10 minutes (add a few extra minutes if refrigerated). Remove pot from the heat and leave partially covered for 5 minutes. Place the coconut in a small bowl. Working with one at time, using oiled tongs (dumplings will be sticky), remove a dumpling from the steaming basket and immediately roll in the coconut. Garnish each with half a candied cherry, if using. Serve at once, or return to the steamer basket (off the heat), cover, and hold up to 1 hour.
{PER SERVING} (per dumpling, or 1⁄12 of recipe) Calories 181 • Protein 3g • Total Fat 3g • Sat Fat 1g • Cholesterol 0mg • Carbohydrate 35g • Dietary Fiber 1g • Sodium 8mg
