Jiufen Taro Balls

Ingredients

• 300g taro, peeled and diced
• 200g orange sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 120g tapioca starch, for the taro
• 80g tapioca starch, for the sweet potato
• 60g caster sugar
• 4 tbsp boiling water, plus extra
• 3 tbsp tapioca starch, for dusting
• 120g dark brown sugar
• 500ml water
• 20g ginger, thickly sliced
• 200g cooked red beans
• 200g grass jelly, cubed

Before you cook

• Peel and dice the taro and sweet potato into 2cm cubes, keeping them in separate piles.
• Weigh out the two quantities of tapioca starch into separate bowls.
• Slice the ginger thickly without peeling it.
• Dust a large tray with tapioca starch.

Steps

1. Steam the taro and sweet potato in a single layer over boiling water for twenty minutes, until a knife slides through with no resistance.
2. Mash the hot taro to a smooth paste in one bowl and the hot sweet potato in another.
3. Stir half the caster sugar into each mash before it cools.
4. Add the 120g of tapioca starch to the taro and work it in with a spatula.
5. Add a tablespoon of boiling water at a time to the taro mixture until it comes together as a smooth dough that does not crack when bent.
6. Add the 80g of tapioca starch to the sweet potato and bring that to a dough the same way.
7. Roll each dough into ropes about 1.5cm thick on the dusted tray.
8. Cut the ropes into 2cm pillows and toss them in the dusting starch so they do not stick.
9. Put the brown sugar, 500ml water and sliced ginger in a saucepan over medium heat.
10. Simmer the syrup for ten minutes until it thickens very slightly, then keep it warm.
11. Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil.
12. Drop in the taro and sweet potato balls and stir once so they do not settle.
13. Boil for five minutes after they float to the surface.
14. Scoop the balls into a bowl of cold water for thirty seconds to set their bounce, then drain them.
15. Divide the balls between four bowls with the red beans and grass jelly.
16. Ladle the warm ginger syrup over the top and serve.