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Are you looking for ways to entice the kiddos to eat their veggies? Or are you finding more creative recipes to use carrots as a side dish? Here’s a deep-fried sesame carrot ball recipe that requires 30 minutes of your time and only 5 simple ingredients: carrots, sugar, honey, glutinous rice flour, and white sesame seeds.
What Are Deep-Fried Sesame Carrot Balls?
If you loved my Sesame Balls Recipe, you will surely enjoy this sesame carrot balls recipe as well. It is a similar recipe in terms of ingredients and cooking method, but the main difference is incorporating carrots in the dough. Just like sesame balls, sesame carrot balls are soft and chewy thanks to the glutinous rice flour in the dough.
To make the dough, you will mix mashed carrots, sugar, honey, and glutinous rice flour. The dough is kneaded into a smooth dough and shaped into small balls. Then, the carrot balls are coated with white sesame seeds, giving them a crunchy outer layer.
The last step is deep-frying all the balls in hot oil until they float to the top and turn golden brown. Give this recipe a try and have it as an after-meal snack or breakfast addition.
Can’t get enough of sesame seeds? Here are my other recipes using black or white sesame seeds
- Crunchy Sesame Candy With Peanuts (Vegan + Gluten-Free!)
- Shaobing Recipe (Flaky Chinese Sesame Flatbread)
- Tang Yuan Recipe (Black Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls)
- Black Sesame Paste Recipe
- Black Sesame Steamed Buns Recipe
- Sweet Chinese Black Sesame Dessert Soup (芝麻糊)
Ingredient Tips & Alternatives
Follow these tips on how to alter an ingredient:
- Carrots: You will need approximately 450 grams of carrots, which is about 2 carrots mashed. To prepare this for the dough, it is steamed until soft enough to mash. I recommend slicing it into thin circular cuts or basically small pieces to steam it faster and mash it easily. Make sure to clean it and remove the skin before steaming.
- Sugar: I added sugar to sweeten the carrots balls. I recommend white granulated sugar or caster sugar to let it mix seamlessly in the dough. Although brown sugar or coconut sugar is acceptable, it may not dissolve faster in the dough.
- Honey: This is added for extra flavor. You can swap this with other liquid sweeteners like maple syrup and corn syrup. Alternatively, this can be replaced by adding more granulated sugar.
- Glutinous rice flour: This is the only ingredient that should not be replaced. Without glutinous rice flour, the sesame carrot balls won’t become sticky and chewy. The texture we are going for is similar to mochi but with a crunchy outer layer since it is also deep-fried. Keep in mind glutinous rice flour is not the same as rice flour. Glutinous rice flour is made from milled glutinous rice, while rice flour is made from long or medium-grain white rice. Despite its name “glutinous”, it is actually gluten-free and the word “glutinous” only refers to its glue-like sticky texture. You can buy glutinous rice flour in Asian markets or on online stores like Amazon. If you have leftover glutinous rice flour, use it to make these recipes:
- White sesame seeds: It won’t be called a sesame ball without a coating of sesame seeds. I used white sesame seeds, but you can use black sesame seeds or a mix of both. With sesame seeds, it will give the carrot balls a delightful nutty flavor and crunchy texture. If using black sesame seeds, it will give the carrot balls a stronger nutty taste.
- Oil for deep-frying: A crucial aspect of making a successful sesame carrot ball is using the right oil and the correct deep-frying method. First, the best oil to use should be the one with a high smoke point since it is more heat stable and reduces the amount of oil oxidized. You can use avocado, peanut, canola, and corn oil. Second, the oil should be heated until 120 degrees Celsius. This is the ideal temperature for deep-frying to prevent the carrot balls from absorbing excess oil. If the carrot balls absorb oil, they will turn soggy and not crunchy. I recommend using a kitchen thermometer to check if the oil is at the correct temperature.
- Optional filling: If you liked the filling in my sesame ball recipe, you can also try incorporating it here. Just flatten the ball dough into a circular wrapper, place the filling in the center, and wrap the dough to seal. You can refer to my sweet potato pancakes recipe to see how I wrap the ball, as the technique is similar. Here are some filling examples:
Ingredients And Kitchenware To Prepare
The kitchen tools to prepare are:
- Knife
- Steamer (If you don’t have a steamer, you can still steam without a steamer with various DIY tools: pan with steamer rack, microwave, pan with sieve, rice cooker, and instant pot.)
- Potato masher or fork
- Bowl of water for dipping
- Pan for deep-frying
- Strainer spatula
The ingredients you need are:
- 2 carrots (approx. 450 grams)
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- 1 tbsp of honey
- 350g of glutinous rice flour
- White sesame seeds (for coating)
- Oil (for deep-frying)
5 Simple Steps To Make Deep-Fried Sesame Carrot Balls
Knead, shape, coat, and fry – remember these main steps to make deep-fried sesame balls. Watch how I did it with my Instagram or TikTok tutorial video. When you are done making carrot balls, don’t forget to post a photo and tag me @kitchenmisadventures.
Did you like this recipe? I’d love to know your thoughts too! So, make sure to leave a comment in the comments section and I’d be happy to read them.
- Chop the carrots into thin slices. Place the carrot slices in the steamer basket and steam for 18 minutes or until soft enough to mash. When done, drain and discard the steamed water.
- In a bowl, mash the steamed carrots with sugar and honey. Mash until soft and dissolved.
- Mix in glutinous rice flour and knead into a smooth, soft dough. The texture of the dough is soft when pressed and does not bounce back.
- Divide the dough into equal-sized small balls. Then, dip the balls in water and coat them evenly with white sesame seeds. Gently press the sesame seeds onto the balls to let them attach firmly. Dipping in water first helps make the sesame seeds stick better to the balls.
- Heat a pan with enough oil for deep-frying at 120°C. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the balls until they all float to the top and turn golden brown. Remove using a strainer spatula and drain excess oil to prevent the balls from going soggy. In this step, the carrot balls first sink to the bottom. As soon as the balls float to the top, gently press them down to fully submerge in oil and cook all sides evenly. It is also important to move the balls around the pan to prevent them from sticking.
Deep-Fried Sesame Carrot Balls (5 Simple Steps!)
Are you looking for ways to entice the kiddos to eat their veggies? Or are you finding more creative recipes to use carrots as a side dish? Here's a deep-fried sesame carrot ball recipe that requires 30 minutes of your time and only 5 simple ingredients: carrots, sugar, honey, glutinous rice flour, and white sesame seeds.Ingredients
- 2 carrots approx. 450 grams
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 350 g glutinous rice flour
- White sesame seeds for coating
- Oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- Chop the carrots into thin slices. Place the carrot slices in the steamer basket and steam for 18 minutes or until soft enough to mash. When done, drain and discard the steamed water.
- In a bowl, mash the steamed carrots with sugar and honey. Mash until soft and dissolved.
- Mix in glutinous rice flour and knead into a smooth, soft dough. The texture of the dough is soft when pressed and does not bounce back.
- Divide the dough into equal-sized small balls. Then, dip the balls in water and coat them evenly with white sesame seeds. Gently press the sesame seeds onto the balls to let them attach firmly. Dipping in water first helps make the sesame seeds stick better to the balls.
- Heat a pan with enough oil for deep-frying at 120°C. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the balls until they all float to the top and turn golden brown. Remove using a strainer spatula and drain excess oil to prevent the balls from going soggy. In this step, the carrot balls first sink to the bottom. As soon as the balls float to the top, gently press them down to fully submerge in oil and cook all sides evenly. It is also important to move the balls around the pan to prevent them from sticking.
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 360kcalCarbohydrates: 80gProtein: 6gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 21mgPotassium: 167mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 5095IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 19mgIron: 0.4mgTried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
