Whole black sesame seeds · Blended and cooked · Warm Chinese dessert
Toast and blend one 60 g pack of black sesame seeds, then cook with a little glutinous rice flour for two small bowls of smooth sweet soup. Includes cooling, blending and full flour cooking; it is not an instant raw-flour mixture.
Times are estimates; adjust for heat, equipment and consistency. Measure ingredients using the written quantities; illustrations show the process.
Recipe illustrations; measure ingredients using the written quantities.
Pick over the seeds. If rinsing is needed, use a fine sieve, rinse briefly and drain well without prolonged soaking. Put 60 g seeds in a dry pan over low heat and stir constantly, first drying any moisture and then toasting until fragrant. Dry seeds may take about 5–8 minutes; wet seeds take longer. Their dark colour makes burning hard to judge, so stop if bitter aromas or smoke develop. Spread out and cool for about 10 minutes.
Use a blender suitable for a small batch to blend cooled seeds with 250 ml cold drinking water for about 1–2 minutes until smooth, stopping to scrape as its instructions allow. Separately mix 15 g glutinous rice flour with 50 ml cold water until no dry lumps remain. Do not put hot seeds or boiling liquid in a sealed blender cup not designed for hot liquids.
Pour sesame liquid into a small heavy-based pan and add 100 ml water. Stir the flour slurry again and pour in gradually while stirring. Heat over medium heat until bubbling throughout, then maintain a gentle simmer for about 8–10 minutes, scraping the bottom continuously, until smooth and fully cooked without a raw flour taste. Stir in 15 g sugar to dissolve. Lower heat if it sticks or spits; simply pouring hot water over raw flour is not this method.
The hot soup should flow slowly and lightly coat a spoon, not form a mouldable lump. If too thick, add hot drinking water in about 15 ml amounts, stir and bring back to the boil. If thin, simmer a little longer. Share between two small bowls and cool to a comfortable eating temperature; it thickens as it cools.
Contains sesame. The Xianyitang pack states that it is packed in a facility also handling peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and soya. Check every actual ingredient label.
Best freshly made. Divide leftovers into shallow containers and cool promptly, aiming to refrigerate at 5°C or below within 1 hour of cooking. Eat within 24 hours or freeze promptly. Reheat only once, stirring until steaming hot throughout; add a little water if too thick.
