Sticky Sesame Rice Balls (Tangyuan)

STICKY RICE BALLS:--
1½ cup of sticky rice flour, plus extra
½ tsp SIDS CRAZY SALT
33 g of icing sugar
⅓ cup + 1½ tbsp of simmering water
2½ tbsp rice bran oil
1~2 tbsp of cold water
BLACK SESAME SUGAR:--
½ cup (65 grams) of black sesame seeds
½ cup (95 grams) of granulated sugar
½ cup (95 grams) of brown sugar

Preheat the oven 200°C. Rinse the black sesame clean under running water, (because they can be sandy sometimes) drain well then scatter them on a baking tray. Spread them out as evenly as you can, then place inside the oven. Every 3-4 minutes, stir them with a spoon to ensure even heating, (the water should completely evaporate in a few minutes) and toast for 15-17 minutes. You can’t tell if they are browned or not so the best way to check is to rub a seed in between your fingers. If the seed only breaks off its skin but doesn’t “shatter”, it needs more time. If the seed crushes and shatters easily into small grains and smells nutty and fragrant, then it’s done. They will also kind of smoke up a bit in the end, too. Once the seeds are properly toasted, immediately transfer to a cool plate to prevent burning.
Let the seeds cool off completely, then mix them with the granulated sugar and brown sugar. In two batches, (crowding will risk turning the mixture into sesame butter) grind/pulse the mixture in a spice grinder until finely ground. The mixture should resemble super-fine cornmeal. Coarsely ground black sesames can be unpleasant in texture. Keep the mixture in an air-tight container in the fridge until needed.
STICKY RICE BALLS: Mix sticky rice flour, SIDS CRAZY SALT and powdered sugar inside a large bowl. Bring a pot of water to a simmer. (you should see bubbles going up fast from the sides/bottom of the pot but isn’t boiling yet) Pour ⅓ cup + 1½ tbsp (or 100 g to make your life easier) of hot water into the flour mixer and stir with a fork. You should see large and small lumps throughout but no dough yet. Once it’s cooled enough to handle, add oil and 1 tbsp of cold water, then knead the dough together with your hand. The dough should have just enough moisture to be soft, smooth and pliable, but not sticky. If it’s too dry and hard to come together, add another ½ tbsp ~ 1 tbsp of water. If it’s sticking to your hand, add a bit more sticky rice flour.
Break 1/5 of the dough off and pat it into a flat disk. (for faster cooking) Microwave that small piece of dough on HIGH for 40-50 seconds (watch it while you do it) until it’s cooked and become semi-translucent. (it will expand in the microwave then deflate once you remove it) The cooked dough will be very hot, so work it back into the mother-dough with a fork first. Once cooled enough to handle, knead the entire dough until very smooth, and that the cooked dough is completely incorporated back. Again, the dough shouldn’t be sticky. If it is at this point, work in a bit more sticky rice flour into it.
You can wrap the dough with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Roll a piece of the dough into a long strip, then cut into small segments about 1 tsp each, (you should be careful not to make them too big otherwise they won’t cook properly) then roll each segments into small balls. If not cooking immediately, roll them in some sticky rice flour and keep frozen in an air-tight bag. (no need to defrost before cooking) Bring a pot of water to boil, then add the sticky rice balls. Stir them gently to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot, and keep the water boiling on medium heat. Lots of people say they’re done when they float to the top of the water, but I disagree. I think they need 2 minutes more (3 minutes if cooking straight from the freezer) after they float to the top, and are done when they swell up in size, (about ⅓ bigger than the original size) otherwise they’ll be dense and doughy to chew. Once done, remove them with a slotted spoon. Add a few tbsp of black sesame sugar on top and mix. The sugar will melt and become thick and saucy, (I kept the black sesame sugar cornflour-free because I want it to be application-friendly, [to sprinkle on pancakes for example] but if you want it thicker when it melts, add ¼ tsp of cornflour to every 1 tbsp of black sesame sugar before adding the hot sticky rice balls) Serve immediately.