Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball/Lo Mai Chee

Tonight we had a prayer and praise night at our church and were asked to bring a dessert from our country to share with others afterwards. Since I'm of Chinese descent I decided to make red bean glutinous rice balls otherwise known as "lo mai chee" in Chinese. Their texture can be described as soft and chewy at the same time. Different fillings can be used like peanut butter, finely chopped peanuts and sugar, green bean paste, custard, pandan as well as fruit fillings like mango and strawberries.

For my mango glutinous rice ball recipe click here.

Makes approx. 21 pieces

Ingredients

200g glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp Santan powder (coconut cream powder)
300ml hot water
½ cup - ¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
red bean paste (pre-bought or homemade)
½ cup dessicated coconut, for coating
Patty cases

Method

1. Sieve glutinous rice flour, corn flour and Santan powder into a big mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve sugar in 300ml of hot water. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix till smooth and well blended.  Add the oil and mix until the mixture is free of lumps and smooth.
3. Strain batter into a greased tray/bowl and steam on high heat for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by rolling out the red bean paste into small balls- I use approx 1 tsp of red bean paste to make 1 ball.
5. Remove tray/bowl from steamer and stir the cooked dough with a flat plastic knife or a pair of chopsticks. Leave dough aside to cool. NB: the dough needs to still be warm in order for it be pliable, so don't cool it for too long, just long enough for it to be handled with your hands.
6. Wear a pair of plastic gloves and grease it with some oil. Take a 25g-30g piece of dough and flatten it into a round disc (approx the size of your palm), and wrap the red bean paste balls. Seal the edges tightly and shape it into a round ball. 
7. Coat/roll the shaped glutinous rice balls with desiccated coconut. Dust off the excess coconut and place inside a small patty case.
8. Serve glutinous rice balls chilled or at room temperature.

Notes & Tips

Add 2 tablespoons green tea powder and a few drops green food colouring to the batter to make green tea flavoured glutinous rice balls