← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 200 g taro, peeled and thinly sliced
• 200 g orange or purple sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp sugar, divided
• 220 g tapioca starch, divided, plus extra for dusting
• 100 g rock sugar or brown sugar
• 4 slices slices fresh ginger
• 750 ml Water
• sweet red beans or grass jelly, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Simmer the rock sugar and ginger in the water for 15 min to make a gentle ginger syrup. Keep it warm.
2. Meanwhile, steam the taro and sweet potato in separate bowls for 15–20 min, until completely soft.
3. While still hot, mash each one smooth with 1½ tbsp sugar. Knead about 110 g tapioca starch into each mash until it forms a smooth, soft dough that does not stick. Add a few drops of hot water if it cracks, or more starch if it is sticky.
4. Roll each dough into ropes about 1.5 cm thick on a starch-dusted board and cut into 1.5 cm pieces. Toss them in a little starch so they do not stick together.
5. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Drop in the balls, stir so they do not stick to the bottom, and cook until they float, then 1–2 min more until chewy all the way through.
6. Scoop into bowls and ladle the warm ginger syrup over. Add red beans or grass jelly if you like, or serve them in chilled syrup in summer.

Tips

• Wear gloves when peeling taro: its raw juice can make your skin itch. It is safe once cooked.
• Uncooked balls freeze well on a tray; boil them straight from frozen for an extra minute or two.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

What To Cook Today Wok and Kin Ang Sarap