A bowl of glossy black sesame soup is a fixture of Chinese dessert shops, and it is not a complicated thing to cook. What makes it good is the smell of toasted sesame, a silky body and the warmth of eating it hot. The difficult part is lumps in the starch.
Pour the glutinous rice flour and kudzu starch mixture in while the soup is at a gentle simmer, stirring constantly in one direction as it goes. The sesame liquid has to be pressed through a fine sieve or a cloth bag with all the grounds discarded.
This batch weighs about 1.6kg, at roughly 112 calories per 100g.
Method
Toast 200g of black sesame until fragrant.
Blend the toasted sesame with about 500ml of water until completely smooth.
Pour the mixture through a fine sieve or a cloth bag, squeezing gently to press out the silky black sesame liquid, and discard the grounds.
Put 50g of glutinous rice flour and 20g of kudzu root starch (bot san day) in a small bowl, add about 200ml of water and stir until completely dissolved.
Pour the black sesame liquid into a pot, add enough of the remaining water to make 1 liter and heat over medium heat.
Once the soup is at a gentle simmer, pour the starch mixture in slowly, stirring constantly in one direction so it does not go lumpy.
Add 180g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, stir until dissolved, then simmer gently for about 10 more minutes until the soup is silky and fragrant.
Ladle into bowls, pour 150ml of coconut milk over and drop in 1 to 2 slices of fresh ginger for warmth.
Tips
Choose black sesame with plump, glossy seeds and no sign of damp or mold.
Ready ground black sesame is faster but should be the pure kind, and the aroma is fainter than freshly toasted seeds.
Add the starch at a gentle simmer and stir constantly in one direction, which is what keeps it from clumping.
Toast the sesame over low heat and keep it moving, since even a few burnt seeds turn the whole pot bitter.
Pressing the sesame liquid through a fine sieve or a cloth bag and discarding every bit of grounds is what makes the soup silky.
The soup is best hot, since standing lets the sesame and coconut milk separate.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.