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Sweet Potato Balls - crispy deep fried sweet potato dough balls coated with sesame seeds. This Malaysian snack is great for afternoon tea.
Sweet Potato Balls Recipe
Sweet potato ball is an amazing snack available in Malaysia, in the morning or afternoon market. They are commonly sold by street vendors.
Called “番薯旦” in Chinese, they are made with sweet potatoes, flour and sugar.
They are usually coated with sesame seeds and deep-fried. You can find similar versions in Indonesia and Thailand.
These taste of home sweet treats were my favorite childhood food, ones that I grew up eating. They are great as munchies for breakfast or afternoon tea.
Making them at home brings back lots of sweet childhood memories to me!
Making these sweet dough balls are very easy. First, boil the sweet potatoes until the inside is cooked through.
Next, peel off the skin and keep the sweet potatoes. Mash and combine well with flour, sugar and water to form a dough.
Roll the dough into balls and coat them with sesame seeds. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.
How To Make Sweet Potato Balls
Step 1. Boil the sweet potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Peel off the skin and discard it. Then, mash the sweet potatoes.
Step 2. Combine the mashed sweet potatoes with flour, sugar, and water to form a dough that isn’t sticky to your hands.
Step 3. Divide the dough into small, equal portions and roll them into balls. Coat the sweet potato balls with sesame seeds. Heat a shallow pot with 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) of oil. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the sweet potato balls until they’re golden brown. Remove them and drain well on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a general rule of thumb, you should use the sweet potatoes with pale yellow color flesh inside. This type of potatoes make the best sweet potato balls. Avoid using orange or purple color sweet potatoes.
Absolutely. Use air fryer to make healthy sweet potato balls that are not deep-fried. Just follow the method in the recipe card and fry in an air fryer. However, you can’t oven baked.
This recipe is only 264 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Sweet Potato Balls
Serve them as appetizers or snacks, with other Malaysian sweet or savory treats.
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Sweet Potato Balls
Ingredients
- 1 lb (500g) sweet potatoes
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 – 2 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons white sesame seeds
- oil, for deep frying
- powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Boil the sweet potatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes, or until they are cooked through. Peel off the skin and discard it. Then, mash the sweet potatoes.
- Combine the mashed sweet potatoes with flour, sugar, and water to form a dough that isn't sticky to your hands.
- Divide the dough into small, equal portions and roll them into balls. Coat the sweet potato balls with sesame seeds. Heat a shallow pot with 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) of oil. Once the oil is hot, deep fry the sweet potato balls until they're golden brown. Remove them and drain well on paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Not much of a cook myself but did this one and had so muchx fun with my kids.
This site is the only place I come to for cooking ideas these days! :)
They look tasty!
Tigerfish – No, they are not like those served in Dim Sum…this one is just plain sweet potato balls with no fillings.
Chubbypanda – Yes, you should. It’s Visit Malaysia Year 2007 soon…
WMW – Yep, they were my childhood favorite too…sweet sweet memories.
Use to eat these often when I was a kid….memories! :o)
Can you bake them? Is so, at what temperature & for how long?
May I make a suggestion? In the future, you include baking directions in lieu of frying for this if us who cannot handle fried food?
You can’t bake these sweet potato balls. They are not meant to be oven baked.
RM,
Yet another tasty Malaysian snack also found in Taiwan. Now I really really wanna visit Malaysia.
My deep fryer is a wok and a “spider”. =)
– Chubbypanda
Feel like something sweet now. Are these the same as those sesame seed balls, usually served in dim-sum ? Have tried those with red-bean filling before, but not sure if the base of making into the ๆฆ is the same ?
You make me want to eat these off the PC screen!!! Count the ๆฆ now to see if there’s any missing ;p
Ai-leen – I agree, the only place that I can find them in Penang now is the hawker center at the Jelutong evening market.
Chris – I am so sorry to hear that. Take care and be strong.
Suanne – I hear you, deep frying is hard in homes this part of the world. Try a deep fryer. ;)
Sweet potato ball is one of my favourite street food. One of these day, I must break my principal of not doing deep frying at home so that I can enjoy the food that I had been missing for a long time.
Geez…I’ve missed so many posts…
I just recently lost a friend who died of cancer at age 29. It’s real tough to get myself organized.
Food doesn’t seem to work for me right now, however, this food blog is definitely the blog and you must read everyday. Don’t miss it.
I love sweet potato balls, they are very good. It’s hard to find them nowadays.