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Nothing beats an easy-to-make homemade dessert made from scratch. If you like making each ingredient yourself, try this well-loved Taiwanese dessert staple with taro balls using sliced pumpkin, purple potato, and taro. Add in some tapioca starch for a chewy texture and serve it with sago, sweet syrup, honey bean, mangoes, and milk!

What Is Taro?

From the name itself, taro balls are made of taro, a root vegetable with edible corm and leaves. You may also know this vegetable as toran in Korea, Kalo in Hawaii, and Pheuak in Thailand. Its skin is brown-greyish, while its flesh is mainly white with light purple tiny specks.

Once it is processed, its color becomes more light purple but not as dark as ube. It contains natural sugars that give its sweet taste. The taste can also be described as earthy and nutty, while the texture is starchy and soft.

Taro is a healthier substitute for popular root vegetables such as potatoes. It can be cooked in many different ways, such as steamed taro bun, taro sago dessert soup, deep-fried sugared taro, and taro paste.

How To Eat Taro Balls

In this recipe, we are going to use taro to make taro balls which can be used for taro and sweet potato balls dessert. Taro balls can be served with sweet syrup, either cold or warm. You can also add it to cold puddings for summer and warm creamy soups for winter.

Here are other delicious ways to serve taro balls:

Over shaved ice and milk
Mix with coconut milk and fruits
Additional balls for boba tea or milk tea
Combine grass jelly and sweet condensed milk
With sweet red bean, grass jelly cubes, shaved iced, and ginger

Tips And Suggestions When Making Taro Balls

If you are a newbie in making taro balls, follow my expert tips below for hassle-free preparation and a successful end result. I listed below some challenges you may encounter while cooking taro balls, as well as recommended alternatives and serving suggestions.

Adjust the amount of starch and water as needed: The more starch used, the higher the elasticity. You can adjust the starch and water depending on the texture of the mixture. If the mixture is too dry, add a bit of water. If the mixture is too watery, add a bit of starch. Keep in mind that adding too much starch may cause the balls to crumble.
Tapioca starch alternative: Some recipes use sweet potato starch, while some use a combination of sweet potato starch and tapioca starch. In my recipe, I only use tapioca starch for a more elastic consistency. You can use sweet potato starch if you want a softer consistency and a more authentic flavor.
Enhance the color and texture if desired: For a more vibrant purple color, you can use purple sweet potato. Aside from taro and purple potato, I also use pumpkin for more color variations in the dessert. In addition, you can coat the taro balls with sugar while hot and fresh to allow the sugar to melt. This makes the balls have a syrupy and shiny finish, perfect for chilled desserts.
Type of taro: You can use raw taro for a fresher taste or frozen and pre-cut taro for easier preparation.
Storage suggestions: It can be stored in the freezer for 1 to 2 months. When storing, make sure it is dusted with a thin layer of starch and kept in an airtight container such as zipped freezer bags.
Cooking tips: Only cook the balls once the water starts boiling, and not before. Otherwise, it will crumble. Moreover, giving it a gentle stir is important to prevent the balls from sticking at the bottom of the pan and clumping together. Lastly, It is crucial to rinse the taro balls in cold water to cleanse them and remove residual starch.

Items You Need To Make Homemade Taro Balls

The first thing you need is a steamer appliance to steam the pumpkin, purple potato, and taro. If you don’t have a steamer, you can steam them without a steamer with other kitchen appliances, such as a pan with a steamer rack and heat-resistant bowl, a microwave with a damp paper towel, and a pan with a sieve or colander. You can also steam it with a rice cooker or instant pot.

Aside from pumpkin, purple potato, and taro, you will also need tapioca starch, water, and the ingredients for your desired dessert. Make sure to have extra tapioca starch or sweet potato starch for dusting when making the balls. Here’s a list of things you need to make taro balls.

Kitchenware

Steamer
Knife and chopping board
Potato masher
Mixing bowl
Silicone scraper or spatula
Dessert bowls
Freezer bag for storage

Ingredients

Pumpkin balls

100g pumpkin
35g tapioca starch
25g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water

Purple potato balls

100g purple potato
35g tapioca starch
25g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water

Taro balls

100g taro
35g tapioca starch
25g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water

Others

Extra tapioca starch for dusting
Cold water for rinsing
Dessert suggestions: sago, honey bean, mango, and milk

Steps To Make Homemade Taro Balls

To make it simpler, the first thing you need to do is cook and mash the base ingredients. These are mixed with tapioca and water to make the dough. Then, the dough is kneaded, shaped, and boiled.

In my recipe instructions, you will have to repeat these steps for each mashed ingredient: pumpkin, purple potato, and taro. Once you have ready-made balls, you can make them with your desired dessert recipe. Watch my short recipe tutorial on Instagram and Tiktok for a more detailed guide.

Prepare The Pumpkin, Purple Potato, And Taro

Prepare the pumpkin, purple potato, and taro by peeling and slicing them.

In a steamer, add water and place the peeled and sliced pumpkin, purple potato, and taro in the steamer basket. Steam for 15 minutes. It should become soft and steamy ready for mashing.

Make Taro Balls

Once cooked, make the balls by starting with taro. Mash the taro using a potato masher.

Then, add tapioca starch and mix with your hands until it becomes fluffy chunks.

In a separate bowl, mix 25g tapioca starch with 30g freshly boiled water to make a sticky dough.

Next, combine the sticky dough with the mashed taro and tapioca mixture.This prevents the taro balls from cracking.

Check the texture. If it is too sticky, add more starch. Gradually add the starch until you get the right consistency.

Knead the dough until you get a smooth consistency.

Make The Pumpkin Balls

Make the pumpkin balls by repeating steps 4 to 9 from the taro balls instructions.

Make The Potato Balls

Make the purple potato balls by repeating steps 4 to 9 from the taro balls instructions.

Shape The 3 Dough Balls

You should have three separate doughs: taro dough, pumpkin dough, and purple potato dough.

Next, roll each dough into long cylindrical strips about 1.5 to 2 centimeters in diameter.

Then, cut the dough into small dice pieces, making 2cm pieces.

Dust a thin layer of tapioca starch to prevent the balls from sticking together. Make sure the starch is spread evenly.

Choose the number of taro balls you wish to cook for the dessert and store the extra balls in the freezer in a sealed freezer bag.

Boil The Balls

Prepare a pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water boils, add the taro balls.

Gently stir the balls to prevent clumping and sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Cook the balls until they float to the top. When all the balls are floating, cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Then, rinse the cooked balls in cold water. This is to remove residual starch and clean them.

Lastly, serve the balls with sago, honey bean, mango, and milk. Enjoy this sweet treat, either chilled or warm.

How To Make Taro Balls From Scratch

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Course Dessert

Cuisine Chinese

Servings

Calories 206 kcal