When all you want is some good ol’ buchi for merienda or dessert, you can now spend an afternoon making them yourself instead of looking for the nearest restaurant that has the filling you crave. We went with black sesame, a flavor we find to be somewhat niche and severely underrated.
For this recipe though, patience is key—you have to chill the filling so that it will be easier to form and fry. While frying, make sure to fry it in deep oil, and constantly move the buchi so that it doesn’t burn, because the exterior does burn quite easily.
Ingredients
Black Sesame Filling
- 1 cup black sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
Buchi
- ⅔ cup hot water
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour
- ½ cup white sesame seeds
- neutral oil, for frying
Make filling: Combine black sesame seeds and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz until a paste forms. Transfer paste into a bowl with butter and mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.
Shape and chill filling: Take one tablespoon of the mixture and drop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Continue until all of the mixture has been divided into balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let harden completely in the fridge, at least 3 hours.
Make the buchi dough: Combine water and sugar in a small bowl, and stir until sugar is dissolved. In a separate bowl, add the rice flour. Slowly stream in the water-sugar mixture into the flour, stirring with a fork or a pair of chopsticks. Keep stirring until a cohesive ball forms and the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
Knead dough: Dust a clean work surface with flour. Transfer dough to the prepared surface, dusting with more flour if needed. Knead the dough for 5 minutes until smooth.
Form buchi: Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll dough pieces into small balls, then flatten into discs about ¼-inch thin. Place the chilled black sesame filling into the center of each disc of dough and wrap around, fully sealing the filling inside the dough. Roll the stuffed ball in sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining filling and dough.
Fry buchi: Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot to 350°F. Fry buchi until golden brown, turning them frequently with cooking chopsticks or a spider strainer, 5–8 minutes. Transfer to a metal rack or heatproof plate lined with paper towels. Serve immediately.
