Taiwanese Sweet Potato Balls Desserts

I always enjoys cooking desserts and having them at any time of the day, especially on hot days.  Recently, I tried a hand on this Taiwanese Dessert using both the orange and purple sweet potatoes.  Yam is another tuber ingredients which is commonly used to cook this delectable desserts.  This time round I am not using yam.  Let's start cooking...

Ingredients:
250g orange sweet potatoes
250g purple sweet potatoes
200g tapioca flour or starch (divided into 2 portions)
Some hot water (to be added into the sweet potato and flour dough)

Methods:

1. Peel, cut both the orange and purple sweet potatoes and arrange them on  two steaming plates.  
2. Steam both the sweet potato separately until soft.
3. Immediately transfer steamed orange sweet potatoes onto a mixing bowl and mash with a hand masher until mashed.
4. Add in 100g of tapioca flour or starch while the sweet potato is still warm.  Mix with a spatula or spoon until incorporated.  Add 1 tablespoon of hot water at a time, if the dough is too dry until you get the correct texture for the dough.
5. Turn the dough onto the counter top and knead with hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut the dough into 3 portions.  Roll each portion into a log.  Cut rolls into small pieces at your desired sizes.
6. Lightly dust with tapioca flour. Set aside for later use.
7. Proceed with the purple sweet potato using the same steps 3 to 6.

From the above prepared orange and purple sweet potato balls I cooked 2 desserts to enjoy.

1.  Taiwanese Orange Sweet Potato Balls with barley, gingko nuts and candied winter melons.

Few simple steps to cook this dessert: (1 serving)

1. In a medium pot of boiling water add 2 tablespoons of washed barley, and let it boil until soft.  Drain the barley and discard water.  For this purpose I prefer to have a bowl of clear dessert, which is why I discard the barley water.  If you want to make use of both the barley and the water, it is also fine.
2. To boil the orange sweet potato balls, boil a pot of water and once the water boils drop in the balls.  Once the balls rise to the surface, off the heat, scoop out the balls and set aside.  If I am cooking a larger portion, I will put the boiled balls into ice water to let it stop cooking.  
3. In another clean pot  add water and let it boil together with 2 pieces of pandan leaf  tied into a knot.  Let it boil for about 5 minutes.
4. Add in the barley, gingko nuts (has been cooked earlier) and some candied winter melons, and continue to let it boil for a few minutes.
5. Finally, add in the orange sweet potato balls, stir and taste for correct sweetness.  The candied winter melons is sweet.  Add a bit of rock sugar or granulated sugar if needed.
6. Off the heat and this dessert is ready to be served warm or cold.

2.  Orange Sweet Potato soup with Taiwanese purple sweet potato balls.

Few quick and simple steps: (1 serving)

1. In a medium pot, add water and bring it to a boil with 2 pieces of pandan leaves tied into a knot.  Pandan leaves is a must as it enhanced the flavour of the dessert.
2. Peel the orange sweet potato and cut into chunks, sizes according to your preference.  
3. Add the sweet potato chunks into the boiling water and let it boil until almost soft.  Add in some rock sugar or granulated sugar or brown sugar (depending on your preference) and taste for correct sweetness.  Remove from heat.
4. While the sweet potato is boiling bring a small pot of water to boil, add in the purple sweet potato balls and once it floats to the surface, off the heat and scoop out the balls and set aside in a serving bowl.
5. Scoop the orange sweet potato and soup in the serving bowl with the sweet potato purple balls.  
6. This simple dessert is ready to be served.  

Notes:  The uncooked leftover sweet potato balls can  be placed in an airtight container, separated with parchment paper in between and place in the freezer.  To use, bring it out at room temperature until thawed or place the container inside the fridge overnight.

I adapted this recipe from 'Bake with Paws' with some amendments.