Chapssal donuts are deep fried donuts that is made with sweet rice flour. Its outside is crunchy but inside is soft and chewy like mochi rice cakes. It’s an addictive Korean snacks filled with sweetened red bean paste.
A new habit of mine since I came back to food blogging is “food ingredients hoarding”.
I look around the internet for blogging inspiration or weekly menu planning and when I see some nice photos of food I write down the ingredients immediately onto my weekly grocery shopping list.
I always “intend to” make it straight away, of course. But quite often, I get so distracted by overflowing other delicious looking food and my uncontrollable food cravings that my tiny little pantry has been overcrowded by my hoarded food ingredients for some time.
So this tin of sweetened red bean paste has been squatting in my pantry for about two months now and I thought I ought to send it out finally!
I was going to use this red bean paste for my Chapssal Donuts (찹쌀도넛, Korean Glutinous Rice Ball Doughnuts). It used be one of my favorite childhood snack foods sold at street markets in Korea.
The outer layer is crunchy and sweet and the inner layer is soft and sweet. It fills you up pretty quick too -“implying potentially high calories” 😉
While my sister and my husband really enjoyed this snack, I wish it was browner and sweeter! I just got so scared of burning my pan, so I must have under cooked it for the darker brown colour.
I also didn’t add additional sugar on the red bean paste (as it was already sweetened) but I think I want it to be sweeter. Maybe it’s my late afternoon sugar rush speaking. lol. Nonetheless, it’s a very good snack food if you have kids.
Enjoy cooking and share with your fellow foodies how you went!
Ingredients for Korean Chapssal Donuts, 25 mini donuts
Dough
- 500g / 1.1 pounds sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour)
- 80g / 2.8 ounces self-raising flour
- 20g / 0.7 ounces butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 cups / 16 ounces hot water
Stuffing
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 180g / 0.4 pounds sweetened red bean paste
Others
- Some vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 30g / 1 ounce castor sugar
How to Make Chapssal Donuts
1. Mix the stuffing ingredients in a small bowl. (If you want smooth silkier texture, blend or mash the red bean paste. You could also add more sugar if the mixture isn’t sweet enough for you.) 
2. Sieve the sweet rice flour and self-raising flour into a large bowl. Add the salt, melted butter and hot water. Mix all the ingredients well and knead it to make one large dough. 
3. Take the dough out onto a cutting board and divide it into smaller pieces to make mini round balls. (The size can be up to you but remember that larger doughnuts take longer to cook. Also make sure it is large enough to hold the stuffing inside.) While working through, cover the mini balls with glad wrap to stop them drying out.
4. Open up the dough by pressing the rolled balls with your thumbs. Add the stuffing mixture and close the dough. I added ¼ tsp worth stuffing on each ball. You could add more or less, just make sure you can close the dough without getting messy – (note that the photo below has much more stuffing than necessary, so that you can see what it looks like). Repeat this until you use up the prepared ingredients. 
5. Deep fry the donut in a deep sauce pan (on medium high heat) until the dough is golden brown. You will have to continuously roll the donut while cooking so it doesn’t stick to the base of the pan, and to shape it better. Place the cooked doughnuts onto a piece of oil absorbing paper and cool down for 10 to 15 mins. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients. Be sure to watch out for oil splash.
6. Sprinkle the sugar onto the donuts or roll them on a plate of sugar. Alternatively, put the sugar into a plastic bag and added the donuts. Then while holding the top of the bag, shake the bag.
7. Enjoy.
Note:
- It is best to consume all the doughnut holes within the first few hours of making them. (Tastes best within the first 30 mins.) Otherwise, outer layer of the doughnut holes get soft (not crunchy any more) and the inner layer gets hard. Also the sugar starts melting and runs on the doughnut holes, making them sticky.
- If leftovers are unavoidable, you can put them into an air tight container and leave them at room temperature overnight. Doughnut holes can be microwaved for about 1 min. Just don’t expect the same texture as the first day. They are still edible but not as nice.
- If you like this recipe, you might also like to try my Nutella Mochi Donut Holes recipe. We loved this version of doughnut holes more than the red bean stuffed version. 🙂
Chapssal Donuts (Korean Glutinous Rice Ball Doughnuts)
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g sweet rice flour (1.1 pounds)
- 80 g self-raising flour (2.8 ounces)
- 20 g melted butter (0.7 ounces)
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 cups hot water (16 ounces)
Stuffing
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 180 g sweetened red bean paste (0.4 pounds)
Others
- Some vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 30 g castor sugar (1 ounce)
Instructions
- Mix the stuffing ingredients in a small bowl. (If you want smooth silkier texture, blend or mash the red bean paste. You could also add more sugar if the mixture isn't sweet enough for you.)
- Sieve the sweet rice flour and self-raising flour into a large bowl. Add salt, melted butter and hot water. Mix all the ingredients well and knead it to make one large dough.
- Take the dough out onto a cutting board and divide it into smaller pieces to make mini round balls. (The size can be up to you but remember that larger doughnuts take longer to cook. Also make sure it is large enough to hold the stuffing inside.) While working through, cover the mini balls with glad wrap to stop them drying out.
- Open up the dough by pressing the rolled balls with your thumbs. Add the stuffing mixture and close the dough. I added ¼ tsp worth stuffing on each ball. You could add more or less, just make sure you can close the dough without getting messy - (note that the photo below has much more stuffing than necessary, so that you can see what it looks like). Repeat this until you use up the prepared ingredients.
- Deep fry the donut in a deep sauce pan (on medium high heat) until the dough is golden brown. You will have to continuously roll the donut while cooking so it doesn't stick to the base of the pan, and to shape it better. Place the cooked doughnuts onto a piece of oil absorbing paper and cool down for 10 to 15 mins. Repeat this with the remaining ingredients. Be sure to watch out for oil splash.
- Sprinkle the sugar onto the donuts or roll them on a plate of sugar. Alternatively, put the sugar into a plastic bag and added the donuts. Then while holding the top of the bag, shake the bag.
- Enjoy.
Nutrition Info (per serving)
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
