Che Lum Chum (Peanut Rice Balls in Ginger Syrup), Sweetened with Monk Fruit

Method

1. Put 400 gr of glutinous rice flour, 100 gr of tapioca starch and 1 teaspoon of salt in a basin, pour in water just off the boil a little at a time and mix through.
2. Knead the dough for 15 to 20 minutes until smooth, pliable and no longer sticky, then cover it and rest it for 30 minutes.
3. Toast 200 gr of peanuts with 1 teaspoon of salt until golden and fragrant, cool them and rub the skins off, splitting the larger nuts in half.
4. Squeeze the milk from 1 coconut and cook it with 45 gr of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, half a teaspoon of salt and about 1 teaspoon of tapioca starch until thickened.
5. Press each piece of dough flat, set half a peanut in the middle and seal it into a ball, then set it on a tray dusted with tapioca starch.
6. Cook 450 gr of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend with 1.5 litres of water and 200 gr of sliced ginger, simmering gently until dissolved and lightly thickened.
7. Boil the balls in hard boiling water. They are done as soon as they float, and go straight into a basin of cold water.
8. Add the balls to the pot of ginger syrup and cook another 5 to 10 minutes, then ladle into bowls and pour the coconut milk over.

Tips

• The more thoroughly the dough is kneaded, the chewier the balls turn out.
• The water has to be at a rolling boil, which is what keeps the balls from falling apart.
• Dusting the tray with tapioca starch keeps the balls from sticking to one another.
• Toasting the peanuts with a little salt and cooling them before rubbing means the skins come off easily.
• The ginger syrup only simmers gently to a light thickness, since a heavy syrup glues the balls together in clumps.