Fried Purple Sweet Potato Mochi Balls

These fried purple sweet potato mochi balls (紫地瓜球) are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are gluten-free and you only need 3 ingredients! 

Taiwan Night Market

If you have ever been to Taiwan night markets, you would notice people lining up for fried sweet potato balls, known as 地瓜球. These fried sweet potato balls are common Taiwanese street food that combined the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes and the chewiness from tapioca starch. Not only are they fun to eat, they are also very addicting! They are definitely a must try snack!

Traditional Taiwanese fried sweet potato balls are airy and hollow on the inside. Here in this recipe, you’ll find the sweet potato balls more dense and has more QQ texture. When you first bite into these fried mochi balls, they are super crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. If you like mochi, you’ll love this recipe!

Ingredients

• Sweet Potato: Traditional Taiwanese fried sweet potato balls are made with yam. Here I used purple sweet potatoes. You can find purple sweet potatoes in any Asian supermarkets. You can also use regular yellow sweet potato if you can’t find purple sweet potato.
• Tapioca Flour: this gives the potato balls its chewy texture
• Sugar: adding sugar can enhance the sweetness of sweet potatoes
• Oil for frying: you can use corn oil, canola oil, peanut oil, or any oil with high smoke point

Instructions

STEAM: Peel and slice the sweet potatoes or cut them into cubes. Place them in a steamer and steam for about 20 minutes or until soft. If you can use a fork or chopstick to pierce through the potatoes easily, that means they are done.

MASH: Transfer the cooked sweet potatoes to a large bowel. Mash them with a fork or potato smasher while they are still warm. Then add granulated sugar.

MIX: Mix the granulated sugar with mashed sweet potatoes. Then gradually add tapioca flour to the mash potatoes.

KNEAD: Knead the dough until smooth and well combined. The dough should resemble Play-Doh texture and not too sticky. Add a little more tapioca flour if the dough is too sticky.

SHAPE: Roll the dough into a log shape and divide into equal parts. You should yield about 22-24 parts. Roll the dough into small balls.

FRY: In a large frying pan or pot, add oil and heat to medium. Carefully drop each sweet potato balls into the oil. Fry for about 8 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Use a strainer or skimmer to keep swirling and gently press down the balls. 

COOL and SERVE: Transfer the fried sweet potato balls to a plate lined with paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve them warm.

TIPS

• My grandmother’s trick: Using a strainer or skimmer to swirl and gently press down the balls can help the potato balls become puffy and increase in size. It can also help fry the mochi balls more evenly.
• Frying time is a crucial factor to make sure there is no crack or shrinking. If the potato balls shrink or become wrinkly, that means they are under-fried and need more time. 

LOOKING FOR MORE CHEWY RECIPES? TRY THIS BLACK SESAME MOCHI MUFFINS, MISO TAHINI MOCHI MUFFINS, OR HAWAIIAN BUTTER MOCHI WITH COCONUT MILK.

If you make this recipe, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think. Make sure you also tag me @onehappybite on Instagram and hashtag it #onehappybite so I can see your creations!

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