Recipe : Buchi Balls

Aaah buchi ... I just love em. Although they may look difficult to make, they actually aren't. It just takes a bit of patience, especially if you're making the filling from scratch. Buchi can be made only with glutinous rice flour, but to give it a better texture and more character, it's best to include mashed sweet potato.

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Buchi Balls













Ingredients:
2 c Glutinous rice flour
1 1/2 Sweet potato; cooked; mashed (1-1/4 lb)
1 c Brown sugar (lightly packed)
1/4 c Water
Sesame seeds
Red bean paste (recipe follows)

Mix the first 2 ingredients in a bowl. Dissolve brown sugar in water and bring to a rolling boil. Immediately add water to flour mixture and stir until dough is firm. Knead lightly for a few minutes until dough is well mixed. Divide dough into 15 pieces or less depending on how big you want each ball to be. Take a ball of dough and press an indentation into it, making a deep cup. Place 1 teaspoon of red bean filling inside and close the cup, making sure you completely cover the filling with the dough. Pince and twist off a pice of dough and seal the edge well. Roll the filled ball between your palms to make it perfectly round. Then roll the ball in sesame seeds, pressing gently, until the entire surface is covered and the seeds adhere to the dough. Prepare the other half of the dough and cover the finished balls with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Heat wok over medium heat. Add oil and heat to 350 degrees. Lower ina few balls at a time and let cook slighly. When sesame seeds turn lighT brown, apply some pressure to the balls with the back of a large ladle, pressing them against the bottom or side of the pan. Do this continuously, pressing each ball until it blows up to about three times its original size and the sesame seeds turn golden brown; this takes about 5 minutes.Each time you press down on a ball with the back of a large ladle, it will automatically turn over and expand a little. The trick is to work all the balls in separate turns, until they have tripled in size, pressing each one separately and quickly going on to the next during the 5 minute process. Drain the sesame balls on paper towels and serve them warm or at room temperature. Already cooked sesame balls can be reheated in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes, or until they puff up again.

Red Bean Paste
Sweet red bean paste can be bought in the store, and used straight from the can for filling, but this is how to make it from scratch.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups red beans, washed well
4 cups water
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar

Place the beans and water in a saucepan, cover, bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until beans are very soft. Strain the water from the beans, and blend them into a puree in a blender or food processor. Press the puree through a sieve, discarding the skins, which will be left in the sieve. Place the puree in several layers of cheesecloth, and gently squeeze to remove excess moisture. Place the thickened puree back into the saucepan, together with the sugar and vegetable shortening, and heat over low heat, stirring until it becomes a thick paste. Stir and scrape vigorously so that it does not stick to the bottom. Remove from heat and let cool before filling buns.

Notes: Lotus seed paste is another traditional filling used in buchi.