Make Muah Chee at home with this step-by-step guide! A soft, chewy treat coated in a delicious mix of crushed peanuts, sugar, and sesame seeds, bringing the flavors of this classic street food to your kitchen.
Muah Chee (or Muar Chee) is a beloved snack that’s soft, chewy, and coated in a sweet and savory topping of crushed peanuts, sugar, and sesame seeds. This mochi-like treat is simple to make and brings a taste of Asia right into your kitchen. It’s the perfect balance of texture and flavor.
Muah Chee has roots in Southern China, particularly in the Fujian and Guangdong regions, but has become a popular snack across Taiwan and Southeast Asia (especially in Malaysia and Singapore)
While it does share some similarities with the Japanese mochi (like the use of glutinous rice flour as its base ingredient), the two are actually quite different. Muah Chee is softer and less dense, with a satisfying crunchy peanut topping, while mochi is often smoother in texture, and sometimes dusted with cornstarch to prevent them from sticking. Both are absolutely delicious in their own way but Muah Chee has that irresistible combination of soft and crunchy that makes it so unique.
When I lived in the United States, this became my go-to snack whenever I felt a little homesick. The chewy, nutty goodness always brought back fond memories of Malaysia.
Ingredients for Muah Chee
- Asian Shallots: Use Asian shallots, which are smaller and more pungent than French shallots. They’re available at most Asian grocery stores. You’ll need these to make the shallot oil and the crispy topping.
- Glutinous rice flour is essential for that signature chewy texture. Be sure to use this and not regular rice flour
- Neutral/light cooking oil: A light cooking oil ensures that the texture stays smooth and that it does not interfere with the rest of the flavors. This will be used to make the shallot oil. If you wish to skip the shallots, you can use sesame oil instead.
- Sugar adds sweetness to the savory and nutty topping. Coarse sugar or granulated sugar is preferred as it takes longer to dissolve than caster sugar, and texture is key in this recipe.
- Toasted sesame seeds are mixed into the topping to enhance and complement the peanuts and sugar, and of course, adding to the texture. You can also use black sesame seeds for some color contrast, but toasted white sesame seeds are the most common.
How to Make Muah Chee
First, we will start by making crispy shallots. The purpose of this is twofold:
- To flavor the oil that will be used in the batter
- For crispy shallots as a topping
In a pinch, you can use store-bought crispy shallots and just use a neutral-flavored oil or sesame oil in the batter. You may also skip the crispy shallots altogether, but I highly recommend it as it adds such a nice flavor to this dish.
Thinly slice 1 - 2 small shallots horizontally so that you get small, thin onion rings.
Heat ¼ cup of a neutral-flavored cooking oil in a small frying pan. Fry the shallots just till they are golden brown.
Be careful not to burn them; they will continue to cook for a few moments after you remove them from the oil (using a spider skimmer) so remove them from the oil just before they start to turn dark brown. Place them on a paper towel.
Set the shallots and the oil aside to allow them to cool down. You'll have some leftover shallot oil that you can use the next time you make Muah Chee, or you can also use it in your next stir-fry for some extra flavor.
Pour 1 cup of glutinous rice flour into a heat-proof bowl (again, please make sure that you use glutinous rice flour and not regular rice flour as they are different!).
Slowly drizzle ¾ cup of water into the flour and stir until the batter is smooth and without any lumps.
Add 1 tablespoon of the shallot oil into the batter, then stir to combine. Alternatively, you may use sesame oil for a slightly different flavor.
There are a few cooking methods, two of which I will outline below: The microwave method, and also steaming it on your stovetop.
Cooking the Muah Chee in a Microwave
This is the cooking method I frequently use as it's so convenient and takes just 2 minutes to cook.
After microwaving for 1 minute, stir the batter well, then return it to the microwave for another minute.
If parts of the batter are still undercooked (not translucent), continue microwaving in 15-second increments until it's fully cooked and forms a sticky ball.
Allow the dough to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the peanut topping.
Steaming the Muah Chee on the Stovetop
Steaming is a more traditional preparation method that yields great, consistent results.
Place the bowl with the batter in a steamer pot on your stovetop over medium-low heat. Cover the steamer, and steam for 15 minutes.
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Remove from the steamer, and stir the dough until it forms a large ball.
Allow the dough to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the peanut topping.
Preparing the Peanut Topping
While waiting for the dough to cool, we will prepare the peanut topping.
Pour 1 cup of roasted peanuts, 3 tablespoons sugar (coarse sugar is ideal), 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds into a blender or food processor. If the roasted peanuts are unsalted, add a pinch of salt to this mix.
Use the Pulse feature on your blender or food processor to blitz the peanut topping mixture until the peanuts are finely chopped to a coarse sand texture. Be careful not to over-blend, as it will turn into peanut butter!
Serving Muah Chee
Pour the peanut mixture into a shallow bowl, then scoop some of the cooked dough and place it right on top of the peanut mixture. Use a pair of scissors to cut the dough into bite size pieces.
Gently roll the small pieces of the dough in the peanut powder. You will notice that the glutinous rice dough is very sticky, but once mixed into the peanut and sugar mixture, the glutinous rice balls will be much more manageable and almost non-stick.
Top with crispy shallots and serve immediately.
Muah Chee is best enjoyed right after it is prepared. If you let it sit for too long, the texture will be affected significantly. You will notice that the dough is not as soft and chewy, and the peanut mixture will become soggy and less crunchy.
If you won't be eating or serving the Muah Chee right away, keep the dough and the peanut mixture separate and at room temperature, until the very last minute when you are ready to serve.
I hope you give this fun recipe a try! Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
You may notice that when steaming the dough, the texture is just a bit smoother, but once you add the peanut topping, you won't be able to tell the difference in the dough's texture or taste.
Coarse sugar dissolves more slowly, helping to maintain the texture of the topping, even if the dough is still warm
A blender yields a finer powder but can be harder to control, while a food processor provides a more consistent grind. I prefer using a blender for this recipe, scraping the sides between blitzes for even texture.
Wrap and store the leftover cooked dough in cling wrap, and keep the peanut topping separately in an airtight container. The peanut topping can remain at room temperature, but the dough should be kept in the fridge. When you are ready, remove the dough from the cling wrap and microwave in an oiled heat-proof bowl for 1 minute.
I do have to admit that cleaning up the bowl after making Muah Chee is not my favorite. The sticky dough is quite difficult to remove. The best way to clean this up is to allow the bowl to soak for a few hours, pour out the water, then use a spoon to remove as much residue as possible. Do not use a sponge to clean any remaining residue as the dough might stick to the sponge. A paper towel works best.
Allowing the dough some time to rest will prevent the steam from melting the sugar and softening the crunchy peanuts too quickly. Texture is key in this recipe!
Jumped straight here to the recipe? Please consider coming back to read the whole post when you have the time as I have included step-by-step instructions with photos.
Muah Chee (Chinese Peanut Mochi)
Ingredients
- 1 - 2 small shallots thinly sliced
- ¼ cup cooking oil
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1 pinch salt
Peanut Topping
- 1 cup roasted peanuts
- 3 tablespoons coarse sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Muah Chee Dough
- Heat cooking oil in a small frying pan. Fry the shallots just till they are golden brown.
- Remove the shallots from the oil using a spider skimmer and place them on a paper towel to allow them to crisp up.
- Pour glutinous rice flour into a heat-proof bowl. Slowly drizzle water into the flour and stir until the batter is smooth and without any lumps.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the shallot oil and a pinch of salt into the batter, then stir to combine.
Microwave (OPTION 1)
- After microwaving for 1 minute, stir the batter well, then return it to the microwave for another minute.
- If parts of the batter are still undercooked (not translucent), continue microwaving in 15-second increments until it's fully cooked and forms a sticky ball.
Steaming the Muah Chee on the Stovetop (OPTION 2)
- Place the bowl with the batter in a steamer pot over your stovetop on medium-low heat. Cover the steamer and steam for 15 minutes
- Remove from the steamer, and stir the dough until it forms a large ball.
Preparing the Peanut Topping
- Allow the dough to cool for about 10 minutes before adding the peanut topping.
- Pour roasted peanuts, sugar, and toasted sesame seeds into a blender or food processor. If the roasted peanuts are unsalted, add a pinch of salt to this mix.
- Use the Pulse feature on your blender to blitz the peanut topping mixture until the peanuts are finely chopped to a coarse sand texture. Be careful not to over-blend, as it will turn into peanut butter.
Serving Muah Chee
- Pour the peanut mixture into a shallow bowl, then scoop some of the cooked dough and place it right on top of the peanut mixture.
- Use a pair of scissors to cut the dough into bite size pieces.
- Gently roll the small pieces of the dough in the peanut powder. You will notice that the glutinous rice dough is very sticky, but once mixed into the peanut and sugar mixture, the glutinous rice balls will be much more manageable and almost non-stick.
- Top with crispy shallots and serve immediately.
Other Appetizer Recipes You May Enjoy
- Goreng Pisang (Banana Fritters)
- Chinese BBQ Pork Meatballs
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Chinese Tea Eggs
- Spicy Garlic Kale Chips
- Thai Cucumber Salad
- Korean Beef Bulgogi Meatballs
- Goong Sarong (Deep-Fried Shrimp Wrapped in Vermicelli Noodles)
Dawne Frain says
I can’t wait to try this, Char!!! It looks so delicious.
Char says
Thank you, Dawne! I can't wait for you to try it! I hope all is well with you and your family 🙂