Vietnamese Sweet Potato Dessert Balls
Vietnamese Sweet Potato Dessert Balls © kvalifood.com
Colourful chewy sweet potato balls served in a light coconut sauce. This is a common street dessert in Vietnam, sold from carts and at market stalls.
Ingredients
Sweet potato balls
- 400 g sweet potatoes (about 2)
- 60 g tapioca starch, plus extra if needed
- 60 g sugar
- 3 tbsp red radish juice (or 1 tbsp strawberry syrup), for red colour
- 3 tbsp pandan juice (or 1 tsp matcha powder dissolved in water), for green colour
Coconut sauce
- 220 ml water
- 4 tbsp coconut cream
- 2 tbsp sugar
To serve
- shredded coconut
- roasted sesame seeds
Directions
Make the dough
- Boil the sweet potatoes whole for about 30 minutes until soft enough to mash. Peel and mash while warm.
- Mix the mashed sweet potato with the sugar and about 2/3 of the tapioca starch until a pliable dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Leave one part plain (yellow). Mix red colouring into the second part and pandan or matcha into the third.
- If any portion is too sticky after adding the liquid colouring, mix in a little more tapioca starch.
Shape and cook
- Roll each portion into balls about 1.5 cm in diameter.
- Drop the balls into a pot of boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes, until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to cold water to stop cooking.
Make the sauce and serve
- Make the coconut sauce: bring the water and sugar to a boil, stir until dissolved, then add the coconut cream. Chill until serving.
- Serve the balls in the coconut sauce, topped with sesame seeds and shredded coconut.
Notes
- The balls can be made ahead and stored in cold water in the fridge for a few hours.
- Pandan juice is made by blending pandan leaves with a little water and straining. Bottled pandan extract also works.
- The sauce can be served at room temperature or lightly chilled.