Bánh cam (Sesame balls) are one of my favorite snacks. After moving to the U.S. every time my mom and I went to an Asian store, I would look for them. Unfortunately, they were difficult to find fresh and they have become increasingly expensive. So I decided to make them at home.
What is bánh cam?
In the U.S. bánh cam is known as sesame balls. They are made up of glutinous rice flour with mung bean or red bean filling, rolled in white sesame seeds and deep fried. Just like the English language, the same dish can have different names depending on where you are in the country.
Bánh cam (sesame ball) is a Southern Vietnamese dish. They also have sesame balls in Northern Vietnam as well. However, it is called bánh rán. Both are made from glutinous rice flour, filled with sweet mung bean paste, rolled in white sesame seeds then deep fried.
There are two main differences between the dish from Northern Vietnam and Southern Vietnam. The first difference is that bánh cam (from South Vietnam) does not contain Jasmine flower essence. The second is that bánh rán (from North Vietnam) is eaten with a sugar syrup on top.
Since I grew up in Saigon, we refer to these sweet, fried dessert as bánh cam. The word “bánh” refers to things like cake, pastries and pies. The word “cam” means orange. So when put together, it translates to orange cake. The recipe does not contain any oranges, so my guess is that the shape resembles that of an orange as well as the color since they are fried until golden.
The outer shell
The outer shell of a sesame ball is made of a combination of glutinous rice flour, rice flour, all purpose flour and mashed potatoes. The addition of the mashed potato is to keep the sesame ball intact during the frying process. I used Yukon potato, but you can substitute with sweet potatoes.
When measuring out the different flours, I used a food scale to weigh it instead of the usual measuring cups, for better accuracy.
The filling
Depending on your taste, you can make the filling using red bean or mung bean. I’ve seen it made with both, but personally I prefer mung bean filling with shredded coconut.
Normally when I cook mung beans, I soak it overnight then steam it, but I didn’t plan accordingly when I made 🙄 this so I just placed the raw mung beans in a pot with water and boiled it…and it worked out just fine. After it’s cooked, strain the water out and return it to the pan and turn the heat on low. You can use a wooden spoon to smash the mung beans, then add sugar, vanilla extract and shredded coconut. If the mung bean paste looks dry, add a teaspoon of water to it. Set it aside to cool. I used a small ice cream scoop to fill the dough with the mung bean paste.
The sesame seeds
I like to coat the dough with white sesame seeds. I have also seen it coated with black sesame seeds. It depends on your personal preference. The sesame seeds are not toasted. I just pour it out of the bag and coat the dough. If all you have are toasted sesame seeds, you can use it but expect a stronger sesame flavor.
The oil
I used vegetable oil to fry the sesame balls. Whenever I fry foods, I always let the oil heat up to 350 F or 375 F before I place the food in. I find that if the oil isn’t hot enough, the food will come out greasy. So how do you tell when the sesame balls are done? When they are nice and golden brown on the outside, then they are done. Let them rest on a cooling rack after removing them from the fryer.
Storing sesame balls
I store the left over sesame balls in an air tight plastic bag in the fridge. They will keep well for 2-3 days. When reheating them, you can place them in the oven at 350 F until they are nice and hot. With that said, sesame balls are best right after they come out of the fryer.
Bánh Cam (Sesame Balls)
Equipment
- 1 candy thermometer to make sure the oil is at the correct temperature.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the mung bean paste
- ½ cup peeled mung bean soaked in water overnight if possible.
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for the dough
- 150 grams glutinous rice flour
- 35 grams rice flour
- 35 grams all purpose flour
- 100 grams mashed potatoes
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar more if you want the dough to be sweeter.
- ¼ tsp salt
- 160 mL hot water you can add more if the dough looks dry.
- vegetable oil for frying the sesame balls.
Instructions
Instructions for the mung bean filling:
- Rinse the peeled mung beans until the water is clear and place in a pot covered with water. Let cook until the mung beans are soft.
- Discard as much water as possible from the cooked mung beans and return the mung beans to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to smash the mung beans, then add sugar, vanilla extract and shredded coconut. It should be the consistency of a paste. Set it aside to cool.
Instructions for the dough:
- Peel and cut up 100 grams of potatoes and place in a pot with water to boil.
- When the potatoes are soft, strain the water and finely mash the potatoes.
- In a separate bowl, combine glutinous rice flour, rice flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and the mashed potatoes.
- If you have a stand mixer, turn it on low, then slowly pour the hot water into the flour mixture and let it mix until everything is combined. The dough will look a bit wet.
Instructions for putting the filling and dough together:
- Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide the dough in half. I like to roll each half into tubes. It makes it easier to divide into even pieces.
- Take the small dough and make a small well in the middle. This is where the mung bean filling will go.
- Use the small ice cream scoop to place the mung bean filling into the well.
- Pinch the sides of the dough together to cover the mung bean filling. Then roll the filled dough into a ball. Continue until all the dough is filled with the mung bean paste.
- Roll the ball into a bowl of sesame seeds. Continue until all the balls are coated with sesame seeds.
- Fill a deep pot with vegetable oil. Make sure the oil comes to 350-375F before putting the sesame balls in. Fry until golden brown. Place the sesame balls on a cooling rack. Enjoy.
These little sweet treats are perfect on-the-go or for a large get together. So the next time you want dessert, give these sesame balls a try. For more dessert recipes, click here.
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