How To Make Taro Balls From Scratch
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!
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 4
Calories 206 kcal
Pumpkin balls
- 100 g pumpkin
- 35 g tapioca starch
- 25 g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water
Purple potato balls
- 100 g purple potato
- 35 g tapioca starch
- 25 g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water
Taro balls
- 100 g taro
- 35 g tapioca starch
- 25 g tapioca starch + 30g freshly boiled water
Others
- Extra tapioca starch for dusting
- Cold water for rinsing
- Dessert suggestions: sago honey bean, mango, and milk
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.
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.
Calories: 206kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.03gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 358mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 2148IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg