Glutinous Rice Balls
1 cup red bean paste
2 cups glutinous rice powder (look in asian markets for this)
5 Tabl. sugar
2/3 cup water
1 cup sesame seeds
6 cups oil for frying.
Divide red bean paste into 16 portions to form the filling.
Mix ingredients the next three ingredients into a smooth dough. Lightly oil table top and place on table and knead until smooth. Roll into a long rol and cut into 16 pieces.
Flatten each piece of dough into a 2-inch wide circle. Place a portion of filling in middle and gather edges of skin to enclose filling. Pinch to seal. (make sure you do a good job here becase if they are open or come open during frying it is messy (the oil splatters more)) Roll each filled skin into a ball and dip in water. Coat outside with sesame seeds.
Heat oil for deep-frying. Deep fry balls over medium heat for 5 minutes until expanded and golden. remove drain and serve.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
You can definitely steam these. As steamed, anko-filled (the bean paste) balls they're called daifuku. You can add some variation by adding a tiny bit of something else to the rice dough - like matcha green tea, cocoa, instant coffee, pumpkin paste, or strawberry paste. My favorite kind is made with mugwort (makes it green), but I have no idea where to get it (or if you can... apparently, it's a tad toxic).