Onde-Onde (Indonesian sesame balls with mung bean filling)

Name: Onde-Onde (Indonesian sesame balls with mung bean filling)
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 100g split yellow mung beans, skinned, soaked in water for 1 hour; 50ml coconut milk; 60g caster sugar; 0.25 tsp salt; 150g sweet potato, peeled and cut small; 200g glutinous rice flour; 1 tbsp caster sugar; 70ml warm water; 70g white sesame seeds; 1l sunflower oil, for deep frying

Crisp, sesame coated rice balls with a chewy sweet potato shell and a soft, lightly sweet mung bean centre.

Time1 hr 30
LevelMedium
Costabout £0.58 a head

Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.

6 servings, 18 balls

Ingredients

Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.

100 gsplit yellow mung beansskinned, soaked in water for 1 hour
50 mlcoconut milk
60 gcaster sugar
¼ tspsalt
150 gsweet potatopeeled and cut small
200 gglutinous rice flour
1 tbspcaster sugar
70 mlwarm water
70 gwhite sesame seeds
1 lsunflower oilfor deep frying

Method

1
Drain the mung beans and put in a pan with water to cover by 3 cm. Simmer for 20 minutes until soft, then drain very well. At the same time boil the sweet potato for 12 minutes until soft.
20 min
2
Mash the mung beans. Cook in a dry pan with the coconut milk, 60 g sugar and the salt for 5 minutes, stirring, until a thick paste. Cool, then roll into 18 small balls.
3
Mash the sweet potato smooth. Knead with the glutinous rice flour, 1 tbsp sugar and the warm water to a soft dough that does not stick to your hands, adding drops of water if dry.
4
Divide the dough into 18. Flatten each piece, wrap around a mung bean ball, seal and roll smooth. Roll in the sesame seeds, pressing so they stick.
5
Heat the oil in a deep pan to 170C, when a cube of bread browns in 20 seconds. Fry 5 balls at a time for 4 to 5 minutes, turning, until golden and floating.
5 min
6
Drain on kitchen paper. Eat warm, taking care as the filling is hot.

Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.