Ma Tuan (Sesame Balls)
麻团
English: Ma Tuan Sesame Balls
Chinese: 麻团
Pinyin: ma tuan
Literal: Sesame ball
I consciously refrain from making Ma Tuan too often. They are one of my favourite sweet snacks in Beijing - crispy and nutty on the outside, soft and chewy on the first bite and gooey in the centre - and I find it impossible to eat just one. Before the day is up, the whole batch will be gone.
They are China’s answer to a doughnut (although Brown Sugar Cake might be closer) and quite similar to another Beijing snack: Zha Gao (Fried Cake) which uses the same 2 ingredients - glutinous rice flour and red bean paste then fried. However, Ma Tuan are much lighter due to the technique of constantly turning the dough in the hot oil, causing it to slowly swell and grow into a big crispy sphere.
Despite their modern popularity, Ma Tuan are unlikely to have originated in Beijing. Glutinous rice flour belongs more naturally to the south, and deep-fried pastries are historically more at home in Fujian or Guangdong kitchens than in the capital. And yet, over hundreds of years, they’ve weaved their way into the North, and nestled their way onto every breakfast menu next to tea eggs, baozi and bowls of porridge, best eaten best eaten fresh and still warm, with nothing more than a glass of hot soy milk to wash them down.
This is one of those recipes that looks deceptively simple. There are just four ingredients—glutinous rice flour, sugar, red bean paste and sesame seeds—but the frying demands a little care. Once the dough floats, it needs attention: gentle turning, patience, a watchful eye. The balls will begin to inflate, slowly and theatrically. If neglected, they can burst (this has never happened to me, so don’t let it trouble you).
A final word of caution. These are deeply addictive - think of them as fried mochi, with ambitions that will make you forget all about doughnuts.
Makes 8 to 10
Ingredients
180g glutinous rice flour
60g white sugar
60g boiling water
80g room-temperature water
160g red bean paste
40g sesame seeds
3-4 cups of oil (for deep frying)
Method
Note: a wok makes this easier - the wider surface gives you more room to gently turn the Ma Tuan as they fry.
Make the dough. Put the sugar and half of the glutinous rice flour into a heatproof bowl and mix well. Pour over the boiling water and stir until you have a loose, milky paste. Leave for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle.
Add the remaining flour and the room-temperature water, mixing until a soft dough forms. It should feel supple and only faintly tacky, rather than wet. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Prepare the filling and coatings. Divide the red bean paste into eight 20g portions and roll each into a neat ball. Place the sesame seeds in a small bowl and keep everything close at hand.
Divide the rested dough into eight pieces, each weighing about 40g. Keep the dough covered with plastic wrap as you work, taking one piece at a time.
On a wooden chopping board (or parchment paper if the dough feels sticky), flatten a piece of dough with the palm of your hand. Press it into a disc, then thin the edges while leaving the centre slightly thicker, rising gently like a small hill.
Place a ball of red bean paste in the middle. Fold the dough up and over the filling, pinching to seal. Don’t worry if it looks untidy at first — roll it gently on the board until smooth and round, slightly smaller than a squash ball. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Lightly wet your fingers and rub each ball so the surface becomes just sticky enough. Roll in the sesame seeds, pressing gently so they adhere. Roll the ball between your hands to encourage the seeds to embed themselves in the dough.
Heat the oil in a wok or deep saucepan over low heat to about 150–160°C. You’re looking for a gentle bubbling when the Ma Tuan go in, not an aggressive sizzle.
Carefully lower the balls into the oil and fry for 5–8 minutes, turning them regularly so they don’t stick and colour evenly. After a while, they will rise to the surface and begin to float.
Once floating, keep turning them continuously for another 2 minutes. This constant movement is what allows them to swell and become light.
Increase the heat slightly to medium (around 170–180°C) and fry for a further 3–5 minutes, until golden brown and almost doubled in size.
Lift out and drain on kitchen paper. Leave to cool for10 minutes - the filling will be ferociously hot straight from the oil.
