Description
Also known as Energy Balls these are really not my recipe at all, they’ve been around for years in health food magazines and cookbooks, but experimenting with them is fun.
In both China and Japan, the most common type of sweets are probably mocha (in Japanese, 餅糬) or môa-chî (in Taiwan, 麻糬). Like many East-Asian deserts, they are vegan and use only small amounts of rock sugar. I think they taste lovely, especially the green tea and black sesame ones, and I like the fact that they use whole ingredients (red beans, mung beans, peanuts and pine nuts etc.). They are a perfect mouthful!
The stuffed glutinous rice balls served in a sweet soup in China are known as tang-yuan (汤圆), a typical sweet desert in Ningbo, it’s so delicious. You could add these rice balls to one of my fruit stews, like my Stewed Lychee, Ginger, Rose & Thai Basil (coming soon!) or Stewed Strawberries & Hawthorn (also coming soon!).
These rice balls do use glutinous rice flour and and sugar, but I like the concept, so I’ve adapted them to be more like the popular raw power/energy balls. Keep a few in your fridge when you come back from the gym or need a quick snack.
Here are my four different favourite mochi-slash-power ball recipes. All recipes below make around 5-6 balls.
Preparation Time
10 minutes per recipe
Power Ball #1: Sesame & Raisin Berry Balls
Ingredients
Raisins, 5 tbsp
Tahini paste (white sesame nut butter), 3 tbsp
Black sesame seeds, 1 tbsp (+1 tbsp for coating)
Extra-virgin coconut oil, 1 tbsp
Raw maple syrup, 2 tbsp
Sea salt, a pinch
2. Walnut, Blueberries & Cacao Truffle Balls
Ingredients
Raw walnuts, 5 tbsp
Dried blueberries, a pinch
Raw cacao nibs 1 tbsp (+1 tbsp for coating)
Raw cacao powder, 2 tbsp (+1 tbsp for coating)
Extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp
Sea salt, a pinch
Power Ball #3: Coconut & Hazelnut Balls
Ingredients
Desiccated coconut, 4-5 tbsp (+1 tbsp for coating)
Ground hazelnuts, 2 tbsp (+1 tbsp for coating)
Coconut oil, 2 tsp
Raw maple syrup, 1 tsp
Coconut milk, 2 tbsp
Cinnamon (optional), 1 tsp
Sea salt, a pinch
Please Note: this one tastes like a healthy Raffaello Italian chocolate (for you, my big sister Rosey).
Power Ball #4: Coconut, Matcha & Almond Balls
Ingredients
Desiccated coconut, 4 tbsp
Ground hazelnuts, 2 tbsp
Matcha powder (1+ for coating), 2 tbsp
Extra-virgin coconut oil, 2 tsp
Raw maple syrup, 1 tsp
Coconut milk, 2 tbsp
Sea salt, a pinch
Preparation (for all of the above)
1. Blend or mash all in ingredients until a smooth paste. I highly recommend the versatile NutriBullet for this since it comes with a special blade specifically designed for grinding nuts and seeds.
2. Knead the mixture together until compact, add a little more extra-virgin olive/coconut oil if necessary.
3. Roll into around inch-balls.
4. Roll balls into the final ingredient (black sesame seeds, cacao nibs and desiccated coconut respectively) until smooth and covered.
5. Place the balls spaciously on a baking tray and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Alternative Options
To enjoy them with a hot tea or coffee, you can dip in raw maple syrup or cinnamon spiced coconut milk. Substitute any of the nuts for another you have knocking around in your cupboard. Substitute the tahini paste or any other nut butter you can get hold of, like almond, peanut or cashew.
