Sweet Potato Balls

Sweet Potato Balls, a great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen, and they will love the taste of their own creation.

Sweet Potato Balls, a sweet treat from Singapore that I can get the kids involved in. Fall is one of my favorite season of the year. Apart from the cooler temperatures that we will eventually get to enjoy here in Houston (we are moving into the last week of October and it is finally starting to get a little chilly), I always felt that it is a very festive time of the year. The celebrations is kicked off with Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas, all great reasons to just get together and feast!

During this time, pumpkins (a popular fall food) are everywhere. With so much focus on them, from the pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks to all the pumpkin patches that sprout up, I'd like to give some attention to sweet potatoes instead, the unsung hero of the fall vegetables. They often show up as a sweet mash in a Thanksgiving meal or as fries with the all American burger.

In Singapore, this root vegetable is often used in desserts. They are usually cut into small cubes and cooked in coconut milk or in a sugar broth. Or they can be mashed and made into little doughnut holes. I have not had them in a long time; my godmother used to make them and I remember eating 10 of them at a go!
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They are easy to make and these little bite-sized fritters make a great snack or dessert. Like a beignet, you can have it for breakfast, afternoon tea or as an after-meal sweet treat. And your kids are going to love helping to make them too.

​Sweet Potato Balls
by Miss Crumbs A Lot, adapted from "rotinrice.com"

Recipe
Ingredients
2 lb Sweet Potatoes
1 - 1 1/4 cup Glutinous Rice Flour (more if you prefer a more chewy texture)
1 cup White Rice Flour 
1/2 cup Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
Oil

Cooking Method
1. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Steam cook it for 10 min until they are soft.
2. Transfer the cooked sweet potatoes into a bowl and mash them.
3. Add glutinous rice flour, white rice flour, sugar and baking powder to the sweet potatoes and mix well until a soft dough is formed.
4. If the dough is wet, add more white rice flour to achieve the right consistency. The dough should be soft and you should be able to handle it without having it stick to your hands.
5. Roll portions of dough into 1 inch diameter balls.
6. Deep fry over med/lo heat, monitoring closely as they burn easily, for about 3 to 4 min or until golden brown.
7. Drain excess oil from the sweet potato balls in a metal strainer or using paper towels.
8. Best if served immediately while it is warm. It may be refrigerated and re-heated in a toaster oven at 375 degrees for 10 min.

Makes 60 pieces.