Taro & Sweet Potato Balls

Feb 13, 2025 | Desserts

Taro has a similar starchy texture to that of a normal potato but with a mildly sweet and nutty flavour. While taro can be used in most savoury dishes, its commonly used in desserts for its sweet nutty flavour, and high starch content which allows it to thicken liquids and create a smooth and creamy textured dessert.

Brighten up your day with our vibrant and delightfully chewy taro and sweet potato balls. Inspired by the classic Taiwanese dessert this deliciously recipe only needs a couple of ingredients and can be served warm or chilled.

 

Ingredients

Taro Balls

  • 150g taro cut into 1″ cubes
  • 60g tapioca flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoon boiling water

Sweet Potato Balls

  • 150g orange sweet potato sliced
  • 80g tapioca flour, or enough to form a dough, plus more for dusting.

Sugar Syrup

  • 5 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 5 tbsp water
  • 3 slices fresh ginger

Served Chilled

  • Condensed milk
  • Red beans, tofu pudding or grass jelly (use as many as you like)

Serves: 10
Prep time: 25 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins

Method

  1. Steam taro and sweet potato for 20 minutes or until softened. Take the sweet potato out to work with while keeping the taro warm in the pot/steamer until you’re ready to work with them.
  2. Place sweet potato slices in a bowl (drain any extra liquid from steaming) and mash with fork while it’s still hot.
  3. Add in tapioca flour, knead and shape into a ball. You might not need all the tapioca flour. Just add tapioca flour until it can be shaped into a dough ball and it doesn’t stick to your hand.
  4. Cut the dough into half before rolling it into a log (about ⅔” or 1.5cm diameter). Cut the log into small pieces, coat with more tapioca starch to keep the pieces from sticking together. Repeat to finish the rest of the dough.
  5. Place taro chunks in a bowl and mash with fork while it’s still hot, add sugar and tapioca flour and mix with your hands until clumpy.
  6. Pour 2-3 tablespoon of hot boiling water into the middle of the mixture, let it sit for 30 seconds before kneading into a ball.
  7. Cut the dough into half, shape it into a ball and then flatten with the dough cutter to ⅔” or 1.5cm thick.
  8. Cut the dough into small squares, smooth out the edges with hands and then toss with tapioca starch to prevent them from sticking.
  9. Bring a pot of water (about 6 times the amount of taro/sweet potato balls you plan to cook) to boil over medium heat. Once it boils, add taro/sweet potato balls, give it a quick stir and cook until they all float to the surface.Then transfer the cooked balls to a bowl of iced water. Set aside while you prepare syrup and other toppings if using.
  10. In a small pot, combine 5 tablespoon of water, 5 tablespoon of dark brown sugar, and 3 slices of fresh ginger. Bring the syrup into a boil and cook until it becomes slightly thickens. Remove from heat and let is cool to room temperature.
  11. Serve warm: Pour the syrup over the taro and sweet potato balls and serve.
  12. Serve chilled: Place ice at the bottom of a bowl and place the taro and sweet potato balls. Add in any extra ingredients and then drizzle the syrup and condensed milk on top and serve.
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