Sang Yin Ji Ma Hu
生磨芝麻糊·(saang yin ji ma hu)
Tong Sui for the Soul: The Rhythms of Dessert
In the West, dessert is an indulgence, but in the Cantonese tradition, it is a deeply restorative necessity. A bowl of freshly milled black sesame soup is the ultimate expression of this philosophy—pitch-black, entirely medicinal, and profoundly comforting. Traditional shops spend hours grinding toasted seeds and soaked rice on heavy granite stone mills to achieve a microscopic graininess that feels like liquid silk on the tongue. Armed with a high-speed blender and a nut-milk bag, you can bypass the backbreaking labor and capture that exact ancient, nutty depth on a busy Tuesday night in an Ohio suburb.
Before you start
Soak the rice ahead of time.
Place the rinsed jasmine and glutinous rice in a small bowl, cover with an inch of cold water, and let it soak for at least 4 hours or overnight in the fridge to soften before blending.
Ingredients
- raw black sesame seeds100 g
- raw white sesame seeds1 tbsp
- jasmine rice20 g
- glutinous rice20 g
- cold water3 cup
- yellow rock sugar60 g
- kosher salt1 pinch
Method
- 01
Toast the seeds using the white sesame indicator.
Rinse the black and white sesame seeds in a fine-mesh sieve and shake off the excess water. Place a dry skillet over medium-low heat and add the damp seeds. Stir continuously with a wooden spatula for 5 to 8 minutes. The exact second the white sesame seeds turn a fragrant, shiny golden-brown, immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the seeds onto a cool plate to stop the cooking.
- 02
Pulverize the seeds and rice into a raw slurry.
Drain the soaked rice. In a high-speed blender, combine the toasted sesame seeds, the drained rice, and 2 cups of the cold water. Blend on high for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture turns into an opaque, pitch-black liquid.
- 03
Strain the liquid to achieve the traditional silky texture.
Place a nut-milk bag or cheesecloth-lined sieve over a large bowl and pour the black liquid through it. Gently squeeze the bag to extract as much liquid as possible. Return the dry, fibrous black grit left in the bag to the blender with the remaining 1 cup of cold water, blend on high for 30 seconds, and strain it through the bag one more time. Discard the remaining grit.
- 04
Gelatinize the raw starches over heat.
Pour the strained black liquid into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously, making sure your spoon scrapes the bottom of the pot so the heavy starches do not sink and scorch. As the liquid reaches a simmer, the raw rice starches will gelatinize, transforming the watery mixture into a thick, velvety soup.
- 05
Sweeten gently and serve.
Once the soup has thickened, lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Add the rock sugar and the tiny pinch of salt. Continue to stir gently for 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved, taking care not to let it boil furiously, which would cause the sesame oil to separate. Serve immediately.
Notes
The visual roasting trick.
Black sesame seeds offer zero visual cues when they shift from perfectly toasted to acrid and burnt. Adding a spoonful of white sesame seeds to the pan acts as a built-in kitchen timer. When the white seeds are golden, the black seeds are ready.
The weeknight shortcut.
If you forgot to soak the rice, blend your toasted sesame seeds with all 3 cups of water and strain the liquid as instructed. Before heating, whisk 3 tablespoons of glutinous rice flour (mochiko) and 1 tablespoon of regular rice flour into the cold liquid until completely dissolved, then proceed to heat and stir on the stove.