easy black sesame matcha recipes 🍵🖤 black sesame matcha latte + matcha tang yuan 🍡

Today I'm showing you how to make two black sesame matcha recipes. First is a black sesame matcha latte and second is tang yuan, a traditional Chinese dessert made of mochi balls filled with sweet black sesame filling. And if you're new here, welcome to my series Matcha Mondays with Michelle. I post matcha recipes, reviews, tips, and so much more every Monday, both long and short form, so subscribe if you also love matcha. I also just dyed my hair from brown to black, so I wanted to make some black sesame recipes to celebrate. So let's start with the first one, the black sesame matcha latte. This drink features a black sesame milk with matcha on top. First, to make the black sesame milk, I added one tablespoon of black sesame seeds into a blender cup and I soaked them in hot water. I added just enough so all the seeds are submerged and the water was set to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the same temperature that I'll be using to whisk my matcha. Soaking the seeds softens them for a better texture and makes them easier to digest, so I let those soak for a few minutes while I worked on my matcha. I'm using Emery's Hinata Matcha, which is very nutty and umami. I used three and a half grams of matcha, sifted it to remove clumps, and added 35 grams of water heated to 170 degrees Fahrenheit, and then I whisk for about a minute. Now that the seeds have soaked, I'm adding 80 grams of milk. I'm using oat milk, but you can use any milk you prefer, and blending it for about 30 seconds in total, stopping every 10 seconds just to shake it up and make sure all the seeds are getting blended. Then I filled my cup with ice, added half a tablespoon of sweetener, or about 7 grams. I'm using pure maple syrup, but feel free to use whatever you prefer. Then I poured in the sesame milk. I'd recommend straining out the seeds, that way you get a smoother texture, but this is totally up to you. And lastly, pour the matcha on top. And the black sesame matcha latte is complete. Both the matcha and black sesame have a nutty, earthy, and roasted flavor, so if you love those notes, you have to try this combo. Now for the tangyuan. This dessert features chewy rice balls with a sweet black sesame filling, with a matcha latte base instead of the traditional sweet ginger soup. This recipe is based off of Jajabake's YouTube video, since this is my first time making tangyuan, and it's also my first time eating it actually, so I'll link hers in the description box as well. I started with the black sesame filling by adding half a cup of black sesame seeds to a blender cup, with a quarter cup of granulated sugar. I blended these together until the seeds were a fine powder. If you have a food processor, you could also use that to get an even finer result. Then I added a quarter cup of melted unsalted butter, and mixed it together to create the filling. I lined a container with saran wrap, poured the filling inside, and put it in the freezer for at least 15 minutes to let it harden. This is going to make them much easier to work with later. In the meantime, I worked on the rice balls. I used this rice flour by Koda Farms, since I already had it on hand, but this glutinous rice flour in this green packaging is more commonly used for tangyuan, and gives you a smoother end result, so it's more recommended to use this one instead. Either one works fine though, so I'll have both linked in the description box. So I added one and two thirds cups of rice flour, and one cup of room temperature water, mixing it in a little at a time until the dough forms. I recommend using gloves because it can get very sticky. If it's too wet and sticky, add more rice flour, but if it's too dry and crumbly, add a little more water. You should be able to handle the dough without it sticking to your hands. Then I dusted my cutting board with rice flour to prevent sticking, and rolled out my dough. I cut it in half to make it easier to work with, and divided each half into 10 pieces, so I had 20 pieces in total. Now back to the filling. After about 15 minutes, it should be hard and much easier to work with, so I cut and divided it into 20 pieces and rolled them into little balls. Now to combine everything, I carefully flattened out each dough piece in my palm, trying to make sure it's not too thin, placed the filling inside, and carefully covered it with the dough, pinching and smoothing out the seams, then rolling them in my hands to form a ball shape. Keep some rice flour on hand in case the dough starts to feel too sticky. The heat from your hands makes it get stickier, so the more you work it, the stickier it'll get. So to prevent sticking, roll it in some rice flour. I'm going to fast forward through my entire process to show you what it looks like. Feel free to slow down the video if you want, or you can skip ahead to this time for the cooking instructions. Now to cook the rice balls, I filled a pot with water, brought it to a boil, and added all the balls in. You may want to do it in batches depending on how big your pot is. I let them boil, and after a few minutes, they should float to the top, and that's how you know they're done. So once they were floating, I transferred them to a bowl of room temperature water to prevent them from sticking as they cool. They're best eaten fresh right after cooking, but if you have extras, line them up on a flat pan or plate lined with parchment paper, and put them in the freezer for a few hours until they solidify. Then you can transfer them to a freezer bag or container, and store them in your freezer until you're ready to eat. To reheat them, you can just microwave them on high power for about 20 to 30 seconds per ball, flipping them halfway, and they'll become soft and stretchy again. The amount of time may depend on the strength of your microwave though. And now for the matcha latte base, I'm using Emery's Hinata Matcha again, and I used 3 grams, sifted it to remove clumps, and added 30 grams of water at 170 degrees Fahrenheit. I whisked for about 30 seconds, and then added 60 grams of milk, and about 5 grams of sweetener. Then I added the rice balls to my bowl, poured the matcha latte inside, and garnished it with black sesame seeds. And our matcha tangyuan is ready. This was my first time ever trying this dish, and the rice balls were so bouncy and satisfying. This is a traditional Chinese dessert that's usually eaten for Chinese New Year, and served with a sweet ginger soup, so I have yet to try the original, but the grassy and earthy matcha flavor really balances out the sweetness of the rice balls. The texture of the filling was a tad grainy, and I'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to be. It could just be because of my old blender, but the flavor is so addicting with its sweet, toasted, nutty goodness. Plus, you can enjoy the matcha just like a regular latte. I am ethnically Chinese, but I never grew up with the cultures, traditions, the food, the language, so I really don't know too much about Chinese cuisine and desserts, but I do know that this is delicious. Let me know if you've ever tried these recipes, make sure to subscribe for more matcha content, and I'll see you in my next video!