🍽️ Jian Dui

Deep-fried glutinous ball, crispy outside, symbol of reunion.

Sesame fried balls, or jian dui, are an essential deep-fried glutinous treat for the Lunar New Year in Foshan and across the Pearl River Delta; a local saying goes that at New Year's Eve everyone must have their jian dui. Glutinous rice dough is wrapped around fillings of peanut, sesame, coconut or red bean paste, rolled in white sesame seeds, and deep-fried slowly until they swell into round golden balls. The shell is crisp with a strong sesame aroma, and the inside is hollow or filled, sweet and chewy. Foshan cooks prize perfectly round balls as symbols of family reunion and abundance. Besides the New Year, they are given as gifts at weddings and housewarmings. Along with fried turnover dumplings and crispy egg twists, they form the three great fried New-Year snacks of the delta, and are among the most festive tastes of Lingnan springtime.