“Buchi” Filipino Fried Rice Balls

“Buchis” are a Filipino version of deep fried rice cakes. They are filled with red bean paste and shaped into balls, coated in sesame seeds.

You can normally find them at most Asian snack bars or restaurants. They usually taste very similar but probably have different fillings.

You can fill them with purple yams, sweet potatoes or even chocolate.
I fill them with red bean paste which is the traditional way. You can buy ready-made red bean paste in almost all Asian stores.

These are the ones I found over here and I’m pretty happy with the taste.

“Buchis” are so easy to make and a great snack for your family and friends. They’re nothing ordinary and I’m sure that only a few of your folks have tried these Filipino rice balls. The kiddos will love these because of the “weird” texture.
To give the “Buchis” a special twist, you could fill them with Nutella.

“Buchis” look so simple but taste very good in an undescribable way! They are chewy with a quite sticky texture and a sweet surprise in the center. It feels like being on an Asian trip munching on these babies! 🙂

Buchi

Yield: 18 Buchi balls

Ingredients:
250 g Red bean paste
400 g Glutinous rice flour ( 1 pack)
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
350 ml Water (room teperature)
100 g Sesame Seeds
Cooking oil for frying

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt and water and knead together until it forms a soft ball.
Hint: You’re basically looking for a Play-Doh texture, soft and a bit moist.

Form balls (50 g each) and flatten them in the palm of your hand. Add about 1 tsp of red bean paste on top of your flat dough and carefully wrap to form into a ball.

Roll the sticky balls into the sesame seeds.

Heat the pan and pour-in the cooking oil.

When the cooking oil is very hot, deep-fry the sesame balls until golden brown.
Hint: Fry them only for about 4 – 5 minutes no longer! They will start to pop when you overfry them.

Remove the cooked Buchis from the pan and drain excess oil.