Polydish city guide

Best Jian dui in London

“Crisp and chewy, with a naturally hollow center filled with lotus paste or red bean—fried glutinous rice flour that puffs with air.”

Jian dui

What the real thing tastes like

Jiandui or sesame balls are a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy after immediately being cooked. Inside the pastry is a large hollow, caused by the expansion of the dough. The hollow of the pastry is filled with a filling usually consisting of lotus paste, or alternatively, sweet black bean paste, or red bean paste. Depending on the region and cultural area, jiandui are known as matuan (麻糰) in North and Northwest China, mayuan (麻圆) in Northeast China, and zhendai (珍袋) in Hainan.

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Jian dui are fried glutinous rice flour pastries that crack open with a crispy, chewy exterior studded with sesame seeds. What makes them remarkable is the hollow cavity that forms naturally during frying—a pocket begging to be filled with lotus paste, sweet black bean, or red bean. Across China, they travel under different names: matuan in the north, mayuan in the northeast, zhendai in Hainan, but the mechanics stay the same: dough that puffs and shatters, a sweet filling waiting inside.

Order it here when it has

  • crisp and chewy texture contrast
  • naturally hollow cavity
  • versatile sweet fillings

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