Black Sesame Korean Rice Cakes (vegan, refined sugar free)

Growing up, traditional rice cakes were served on special occasions like Korean New Year, Chugseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day), birthdays, etc. It’s no surprise that I crave these rice cakes on Chuseok!! However, the rice cakes in New York are not comparable to the ones I ate as a child.

Because I miss those chewy and soft rice cakes with bits of sweet surprises in the middle, I decided to make my own! I was intimidated at first since rice cakes were treated like a delicacy in my household. But I was thrilled when I realized how simple and fast they were to make!

Traditional rice cakes offer a variety of filling choices – red bean paste, brown sugar, honey etc. But black sesame paste is my favorite – especially my homemade version made with dates! This homemade version adds a gooey, caramel-like flavor to the black sesame paste. It’s perfection in one bite!

If you have never tried black sesame seeds in desserts, this snack is the perfect introduction. The intense nutty flavor compared to brown sesame seeds are what makes black sesame seeds work in desserts.

This recipe also does not require a lot of ingredients as a little yields lots of sesame balls! I was able to make around 15 rice cakes with only 1 cup of sweet rice flour. Sweet rice flour might be tough to find at your local grocery store so check out your local Asian grocery store and explore!

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quick notes

• For the outer layer, in addition to black sesame seeds, I coated a few rice cake balls with roasted soy bean powder, or kinako powder. I recommend mixing 1/4 cup of kinako and 1 tbsp of coconut sugar or omitting the sugar altogether.
• When coating the rice cakes with the outer black sesame layer, the rice cakes need to be transferred to a bowl of cold water. I recommend setting aside a bowl of water and popping it in the fridge before starting the recipe.
• If you only have access to raw black sesame seeds, you can toast them in a pan over medium high heat for 5 minutes, or until toasty and fragrant.
• Sweet rice flour, or glutinous rice, is different from other flours. The dough will be sticky and stretchy at first but the dough will start to come together as you pour in the sesame oil.

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BLACK SESAME RICE CAKE

makes 15 rice cakes

Black Sesame Date Paste

• Recipe can be found here

Prepare the black sesame date paste first.

Black Sesame Outer layer

• ¼ cup toasted black sesame seed, crushed in mortar or pestle or food processor
• 1 tbsp coconut sugar
• Pinch of salt

Mix everything together and set aside.

Rice cake layer

• 1 cup sweet rice flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp coconut sugar
• 120 ml boiling water (or more)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Large bowl of cold water

Combine and mix sweet rice flour, baking powder and coconut sugar.

Pour in 25% of the boiling water and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to pour in the boiling water little by little and keep stirring.

Once a dough begins to form, pour in sesame oil. With your hands, begin to massage the dough so sesame oil is fully incorporated throughout the dough. As the dough is coated in sesame oil, the dough will be easier to handle. The dough should look like the 2nd photo above.

Roll the dough into a long cylinder shape and cut into 1 inch pieces. I was able to make 15 pieces. Cover the dough with a damp towel or paper towel to keep moisture from escaping.

Assembling the rice cakes

With your thumbs, flatten the middle of the 1 inch dough and scoop in a tsp or more of sesame paste. Close the edges of the dough and roll between your hands into a ball. Place the ball under the damp towel and repeat.

Cooking the rice cakes

In a pot, bring water to boil and place the bowl of cold water nearby. Add 3-4 rice cakes into the pot of boiling water, making sure the pot does not get overcrowded. Once the balls begin to float to the top, transfer them in the bowl of cold water. Repeat until all balls are cooked. Once cooled, remove from cold water and coat with the black sesame outer layer.

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p.s. If you like this recipe, click the icons below to share and leave a comment below! Make sure to tag me @girlmeetsradish & #girlmeetsradish so I can see what you are making!