Peanut Balls

Here's another tasty recipe courtesy of Jane and family! 

These chewy, salty & sweet treats are made of glutinous sweet rice flour, which is the main ingredient for Japanese mochi and the wrapper of popular American mochi ice cream balls. The flour has a similar consistency to regular wheat flour mixed with cornstarch. You can most likely find glutinous rice flour in the boxed brand called Koda Farms: Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour at asian grocery stores, Whole Foods and Safeway. Otherwise, you can order it on Amazon.com here. 

Once again, this recipe doesn't require exact amounts, perfect when you need to satiate a hankering for something sweet. fast. 

 Ingredients: 

Glutinous rice flour "Mochiko"

water

white sugar or sugar substitute

peanuts

Directions: 

1.  Pour about a cup of glutinous rice flour in a bowl. 

2. Splash a little water in the bowl and mix with the flour. Continue to add water and stir until you form a dough ball. 

3. Boil some water in a medium pot. 

 4. Roll small pieces of the dough into balls and gently ladle them in to the boiling water.  Cook until they become plump and float to the top. They should have a nice sheen and glutinous texture. 

5.  Remove the balls from the water and place in a smaller bowl filled with a little water to prevent sticking.

 6. Meanwhile, put peanuts in a sandwich bag and pound them into bits with a hammer. For the tech savvy, you can use a Cuisinart or other food processor to grind them up.  However, there is something rewarding about pounding the hell out of nuts with a hammer on someone's deck. :)

 7. Pour the peanuts in a bowl and mix in as much sugar as you wish.

 8.  Roll a dried mochi ball in the peanut-sugar mixture until completely coated.  Its best to eat them immediately, but I don't think that will be a problem... :)