Taro and Sweet Potato Balls Dessert (九份芋圓)
Taro and Sweet Potato Balls Dessert is a classic Taiwanese treat will indulge every sugar craving. It's also made using natural ingredients!
- Prep time
- 1 hr 30 min
- Cook time
- 15 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 250 g / 0.55 lb taro ((peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm / 0.2" slices))
- 250 g / 0.55 lb orange sweet potato ((peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm / 0.2" slices))
- 250 g / 0.55 lb purple sweet potato ((peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm / 0.2" slices))
- 400 g / 0.88 lb tapioca starch
- 5 tbsp sugar ((or to taste))
- water ((if needed))
- 500 g / 1.1 lb adzuki red bean ((pre-soaked))
- 50 g / 0.1 lb rock sugar ((or to taste))
- 8 US cups water
- 5 slices ginger
- 50 g / 0.1 lb rock sugar ((or to taste))
- 4 US cups water
Instructions
- 1
Set up your steamer and steam the vegetable slices for 30 minutes per batch. If you have a larger steamer, you can steam more at the same time.
- 2
Mash the steamed taro slices using a fork or a potato masher followed by the steamed sweet potatoes.
- 3
Pour 100g tapioca starch into the mashed taro along with 1 tsp sugar and knead until a dough is formed. It should be firm enough to stand as a ball and not too soft that it sticks to your hands.Note: The amount of tapioca starch needed will vary for each dough because every root vegetable will have different levels of moisture. If you find the dough too dry, knead in 1 tbsp water at a time until you have the desired consistency. Using less starch will also mean a softer ball while more starch will yield a chewier ball and a milder flavor.
- 4
Repeat the previous step with the mashed purple and orange sweet potatoes except using higher amounts of tapioca starch as they naturally contain more moisture.
- 5
Take small dough handfuls and roll them into logs 1.5 cm (0.6") in diameter. Use a knife to divide the log into 1.5 cm (0.6") pieces.
- 6
Dust the balls in tapioca starch to stop them from sticking to each other.
- 7
Bring a pot of water to boil and fill a large bowl with room temperature water. When boiling, put a handful of raw pieces in to cook until they float.
- 8
Continue to let them cook for another 2 minutes before transferring them into the water bowl.
- 9
Scoop the balls out and toss them in the remaining sugar, 1 tbsp per batch (or to taste).
- 10
Soak the red beans in water for 3 hours. This will make the cooking process much faster.
- 11
Drain the soaking water from the beans then cook them in a pot with the rock sugar and new water for 30 minutes or until soft.
- 12
Scoop the beans out to use as a topping. Optional: You can keep the leftover red bean water for your dessert soup.
- 13
Boil the water, rock sugar and ginger for 30 minutes.
- 14
To assemble the Taro and Sweet Potato Balls Dessert, put some of the balls into a bowl and top it with any of your favorite toppings. Then pour the ginger syrup over and enjoy as is!