Sweet Pumpkin Sticky Rice Balls
Pumpkin sticky rice balls served in “sweet soup ‘ of ginger-infused light syrup.
Servings Prep Time
12 2hours
Cook Time Passive Time
30mins 1hour
Servings Prep Time
12 2hours
Cook Time Passive Time
30mins 1hour
Ingredients
Mixed Pumpkin Dough
Filled Pumpkin Dough
Ginger-infused Light Syrup
Instructions
Mixed Pumpkin Dough
  1. Mixed Pumpkin Dough: Mix the spices, honey and pumpkin puree well.
  2. Add pumpkin mixture to sticky rice flour. Form a workable dough with your hand. If the mixture is too dry, add a touch of water. If too wet, use a dusting of flour to correct.
  3. Form dough into a ball, cover with a damp towel and let rest fo 20 minutes.
  4. Using a teaspoon, portion out the dough into little balls. Roll them with your hands to get them as round as possible. Put on a sheet pan lined with a damp towel.
Filled Pumpkin Dough
  1. Mix sticky rice flour with water and work into a ball of dough. Use extra flour or water as necessary to adjust the consistency. Cover with a damp towel and set aside.
  2. Mix the spices, sugar and pumpkin puree well. Add butter. You can use either salted or unsalted butter. I used salted butter for the salty counterpoint to the overall sweetness.
  3. Transfer to a non-stick pan over low heat (use the lowest setting). Very slowly cook for about 20 minutes. This step helps to dry out the mixture to form a thick paste.
  4. Allow pumpkin paste to cool, then transfer to a bowl and refrigerate. The butter will stiffen and help to create a workable paste. This will take about 30 minutes to an hour.
  5. Meanwhile, using a teaspoon, portion out the dough into little balls. Roll them with your hands to get them as round as possible. Put on a sheet pan lined with a damp towel.
  6. Once the pumpkin paste is cold, form half teaspoon balls and set aside.
  7. Take a plain sticky rice ball, flatten it in the palm of your hand. Insert a pumpkin paste ball in the center, then envelop it with the plain rice ball dough. Roll the filled dough with your hands to make it as round as possible. Repeat with the rest of the sticky rice dough and pumpkin paste ball pairings.
  8. Put on a sheet pan lined with a damp towel.
Ginger-infused Light Syrup
  1. Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
  2. Turn off burner and let the mixture steep. Remove the ginger slices after about 15 minutes. If you like a stronger infusion of ginger, allow it to steep longer before removing.
Cooking the rice balls
  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Put in the raw rice balls but don’t overcrowd. Boil until the balls float to the top, signalling that they’re cooked.
  2. Strain and serve hot in syrup. Alternatively, you could dunk the freshly boiled rice balls in an ice bath (to stop the cooking process) and immerse them in syrup for serving later.
Recipe Notes

You could also make the ginger-infused light syrup with dark brown sugar for variety. Adjust the sweetness of the syrup to taste.

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