Muah Chee (Peanut Mochi) (5 Methods)
An easy recipe for this South Chinese street snack that can be steamed, fried, microwaved, air fried or made in a rice cooker!
Servings: 2 people
Calories: 470kcal
Equipment
- Rubber heat-proof spatula
- Steamer or wok with steamer stand If steaming the dough. Alternative: pan if frying, microwave, air fryer or rice cooker
- If not frying: Non-stick heat-proof bowl that can be steamed/ put in the air fryer/ microwave (depending on which cooking method you choose) Oil the bowl you're cooking the dough in, especially if it's not non-stick! This will make it easier to pinch out the cooked batter later.
- Optional: chopsticks for pinching the dough I prefer using my (oiled) fingers but if you're going the chopstick route, oil the front bit first.
- Optional: spice grinder/ food processor/ blender if grinding your own black sesame coating/ processing your own peanuts
Ingredients
For the dough
- ⅔ C Glutinous rice flour (83g or 2.9 oz) Some people have said potato starch or tapioca flour can be used as substitutes but I've never tried them and am not confident they'll produce the same bouncy texture.
- ½ C Water (118ml/ 4 fluid ounces)
- ½ Tablespoon Sesame oil (If frying the dough, you will need more oil- about 1-2Tablespoons) You can substitute with pork lard, shallot oil (directions in the notes on how to make shallot oil), peanut oil or even a neutral vegetable oil like sunflower (least recommended as it's tasteless)! If you don't have oil, that's fine too (for steaming/ rice cooker/ microwave/ air fryer) but the dough won't be as smooth or fragrant.
- ⅔ teaspoon white caster sugar Substitute: white granulated sugar.
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
For the peanut coating
- 1-2 Tablespoons Sesame oil For dipping the dough pieces LIGHTLY before coating with peanut or sesame. If you're coating with matcha or cocoa powder, however, you may want to skip oiling the dough as it's easy for the powder to become oily. (Skip this step if frying the dough.) Substitute: pork lard/ shallot oil/ neutral vegetable oil (least recommended)
- ½ Cup Peanut Powder mixed with some bigger grated peanut Substitute: black sesame seeds, cashews, hazelnuts, matcha powder etc.
- ⅛ Cup white caster sugar or to taste. You may want to add more or less depending on how sweet you like your food! Substitute: white granulated sugar.
For oiling the equipment
- Neutral vegetable oil To prevent the dough from sticking
Instructions
Make the coating first (The dough hardens on contact with air, so prepare the coating first to make sure everything is mis-en-place once the dough is cooked and cooled.)
- For black sesame coating: dry fry the black sesame seeds till fragrant, let it cool, then grind in a spice grinder. Mix with the sugar till evenly distributed.
- For peanut coating: fry the peanuts, let them cool, remove the skins, then blend in 2 batches. Process the 1st batch till it's crushed into 1-2mm pieces but blend the 2nd batch further till a powder (but not so much that it becomes peanut butter). Mix the 2 batches with the sugar till evenly distributed.
- For peanut coating with store-roasted peanuts: You can buy this in powder, crushed and whole peanut form. I suggest toasting the nuts before coating to make it more aromatic, then processing as per above.
Steaming
- Mix all the dough ingredients and stir well till the flour is dissolved.
- Pour into the oiled heat-proof bowl then steam for 15-20 minutes. (The dough will solidify, become sticky and change colour when cooked)
- Stir the dough till it becomes bouncy enough for your liking (minimum 1-2 minutes) then let cool for about 5-10 minutes. (Don't leave for too long as the dough will form a hard coating around it.)
- Once cooled, pinch off small pieces with your oiled hands and dip them in the oil- you want the dough VERY lightly oiled and not dripping!- then coat with the peanuts, black sesame or whatever you've chosen to use.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Microwave
- In an (oiled) microwave-safe bowl, stir all the dough ingredients together till the flour has dissolved into the liquid and is smooth- the mixture will feel thicker than water when stirring.
- Put the bowl in the microwave and blast on high for 2 minutes. The dough should be partially formed at this point i.e. half solid, half liquid but if your microwave wattage is too low, it will take longer. (I recommend starting with 2 minutes first regardless of the wattage, because the shorter the cooking time, the softer the dough.)
- Use a rubber spatula to stir well, then microwave again for 1 minute on high. Remove and stir again (folding the dough into itself to give it a bouncy texture). If the dough still has liquid parts, microwave for 1 more minute, then stir well. (Repeat this till there's no more liquid- the exact time will vary depending on the microwave model. As a guide, a 1000W microwave took a total of 3½-4 minutes to make muah chee- the longer the cooking time, the harder the dough.)
- Once the dough has absorbed all the liquid, do NOT stop stirring- keep folding the dough into itself till you are satisfied with the springiness. (Do this for at least 1-2 minutes)
- Allow the dough to cool for 5-10 minutes (don't leave it too long or it'll become hard and the peanuts/ black sesame won't stick)
- Once cooled, pinch off small bits with your oiled hands and dip them in the oil- you want the dough VERY lightly oiled and not oozing!- then coat with the peanuts, black sesame or whatever topping you've chosen to use.
- Eat straightaway!
Rice Cooker- don't add the oil into the liquid dough till after it's been cooked
- Stir all the dough ingredients EXCEPT the oil till everything is dissolved.
- Pour the liquid batter into the (lightly oiled) rice cooker pot, pop it in and switch on the rice cooker- if yours is a multi-function device, make sure it's in "Cook Rice" mode.
- After 3 minutes, open the rice cooker and stir the dough well with a rubber spatula. At this point, the batter is still partially liquid.
- Repeat the cooking and stirring 3 times (i.e. a total of 9 minutes cook time). By the 3rd cycle, there should be minimal liquid left, which should be absorbed into the dough when you stir and fold it into itself. (The rice cooker is still on whilst you stir the dough.)
- Once the dough is fully cooked (there's no more liquid and the colour has changed), add the oil (optional) and fold the dough into itself till the oil is fully absorbed. Stirring the batter is what makes it springy, so stir and fold for at least 1-2 minutes. Longer if you can!
- Let it cool for 5-10 minutes (not too long or the dough will become hard and the peanuts/ black sesame topping won't stick)
- Once cooled, pinch off small pieces with your oiled hands and roll them in a bit of oil- you want the dough VERY lightly oiled and not oozing!- then coat with the peanuts, black sesame etc
- Best eaten right after coating!
Air Fryer
- Mix all the dough ingredients well till a smooth liquid batter forms.
- Pour it into an air-fryer safe pot, which you leave in the air fryer at 180C for approximately 10 minutes- every 2 minutes, you'll need to open the air fryer and stir the dough several times. It should get progressively stickier and more "chewy". Note: the timing is a guideline and not prescriptive- if the dough is fully solid by the end of the (eg) 4th cycle, stop cooking then- if you do all 5 cycles, the dough will become tough.
- At the end of the 5th cycle (10 minutes cooking time in total), the dough should have very little or no liquid left. Keep stirring and folding the dough for 1-2 minutes to give it an elastic texture.
- Allow the dough to cool for 5-10 minutes (not too long or the it will become hard and the topping won't stick)
- Once cooled, pinch off small bits with oiled hands and roll them in a bit of oil- you want the dough VERY lightly oiled and not oozing!- then coat with the peanuts, black sesame etc
- Serve straightaway.
Frying- don't add the oil into the liquid dough
- Mix all the dough ingredients except the oil till all dissolved
- Heat a pan on low-medium heat, pour in 1 Tablespoon sesame oil/ shallot oil/ peanut oil/ vegetable oil/ pork lard and once hot, add the liquid batter and stir.
- The batter will slowly thicken- keep stirring and folding till it changes colour and becomes a thick, solid dough. The cooking process will take 15-20 minutes. If necessary, add the other tablespoon of oil.
- Once done, stir and fold a few more times then cool for 5-10 minutes. Don't leave it too long or the batter will solidify.
- Since the dough was stir-fried in oil, it is not necessary to dip them in oil again. Simply pinch off small pieces of dough and roll in the coating.
- Serve rightaway and enjoy your traditional Chinese snack!
Notes
Note: if you're finicky about getting the smoothest dough ever, you can sieve the liquid dough before cooking but I don't and haven't had any issues with lumpy batter.
Tip: Stir and fold well after cooking the dough- this is the key to the chewy and bouncy texture of the dough.
Storage
The coated muah chee will become wetter as time goes by so should not be kept for more than 1 day. (Leave at room temperature and not the fridge.)
The uncoated dough can be kept in the fridge for 3-5 days, and steamed then coated when you want to eat it.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.
Nutrition
Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 448mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 14g | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg