In a large mixing bowl, combine glutinous rice flour and sweetened desiccated coconut and mix well. Make a well in the center, add the coconut milk and mix with a wooden spoon until becomes soft sticky dough. Refrigerate the dough for about 20 minutes to make your dough firm. To make the balls, scoop about a tablespoon of dough and roll on your hands to make a ball. Arrange on a clean plate and repeat the process until you are done with all your carioca dough.

Dip each ball in a reserved 1/3 cup of glutinous rice flour and shake off extra flour (dust lightly as possible as you can). This process will help your carioca stay in shape after frying and will give you a crunchy texture on the exterior and protects the interior from drying. Repeat dusting until you’re done with all your carioca dough.

In a small frying pan, heat the oil over medium until tiny bubbles are visible. Drop carioca balls by batches at least 15 pieces at a time and don’t overcrowd your pan. Fry the carioca for about 5 minutes or until the color turns light brown . Using a tong and a bamboo skewer place 3 balls on each stick and place it on the plate lined with paper towel. Keep skewering until you’re done with your first 5 sticks. Reload your 2nd batch of carioca (another 15 balls) on a frying pan and repeat process until you’re done with the last batch then, set aside.

Let’s start making our coconut sauce, in a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk into a boil over medium heat. Add in light or dark brown sugar and mix well. When it starts to boil, adjust your heat to low and simmer the mixture until becomes syrup. Fire off, and let it cool slightly before using and at this point you can add some vanilla if you want.

Meanwhile, while our coconut sauce is cooling down, lightly toast your sesame seeds in a pan over low heat for about 2 minutes. To serve our Carioca, you can either drizzle or dipped in coconut syrup, then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds on top and serve.