Sweet Potato Mochi Tangyuan （番薯奶黄糯米糍汤圆）

Let's make sweet glutinous rice balls this time after I previously shared salty glutinous rice balls which were focused on the soup base.  And the exterior and filling of these sweet glutinous rice balls are the main attractions.

These glutinous rice balls are distinctive from others since they are made with flavorful sweet potatoes. The custard filling is wrapped in a glutinous rice ball, which is not only distinctive in form but also incredibly eye-catching.

Glutinous rice balls are made of glutinous rice and have a high viscosity, which makes them difficult to digest for some people. This mochi tangyuan is using more sweet potatoes and less glutinous rice flour.

This recipe is something like making mochi.  Making this mochi tangyuan with the kids is a delightful project since you may mould and fill the rice balls with your own paste. I combined mashed orange, purple, and yellow sweet potatoes with glutinous flour to make the rice ball. Different varieties of potatoes absorb flour and water at varying rates. The yellow potatoes require extra water or flour to make a proper dough because they are fairly dry after steaming. I need to use more flour and less water because the texture of orange and purple potatoes is moister and softer after steaming. 

The common practice is to add a little water if the dough feels too dry. In fact, holding back a little of the water from the recipe, and adding it in incrementally, going by feel rather than measurement, is the preferred way to get a perfect dough.

Custard is a kind of filling that child like very much, and my children like to eat them very much. So, I often make some custard fillings at home. It is very convenient and delicious. Of course, you can use any filling that you like.

 

INGREDIENTS

(For glutinous rice balls)

150g glutinous rice flour

80g orange or yellow or purple sweet potatoes

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cooking oil

50ml water

 

(For custard)

60g custard powder

40g milk powder

45g sugar

100ml coconut milk

80ml milk

1 egg (beaten)

25ml cooking oil or melted butter

 

(Sugar water)

1000ml water

2 pandan leaves, knotted

10g sliced ginger

50g palm sugar

 

METHODS (for the filling)

1. Combine dry ingredients (custard powder, sugar, and milk powder). Add in coconut milk, milk, and beaten eggs. Mixed it well until it is incorporated.

2. Add cooking oil. Mixed well again. There will be a lot of little lumps in the mixture, sieved it through a strainer to get a smooth mixture.

3. Transfer to 2 lightly greased heatproof dishes and steamed them at HIGH heat for 10 minutes.

4. Remove the custard from the steamer, let it cool for about 10 minutes, and scrape off the custard dough from the dish. Put it on the table and knead the custard until it becomes a smooth paste. The custard is much easier to work with while it is still warm. If you let it cool completely, it takes much longer to knead it to smooth. You can also make the custard one day ahead and leave it in the fridge overnight

5. Roll the custard into a ball about 2cm in size and set aside for later use.

METHODS (For glutinous rice balls)

1. Peel and cut orange sweet potatoes into small pieces, and steam for -10 minutes until soft.

2. Mashed the sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl, add half of the glutinous rice flour (according to the water content of sweet potatoes, add a little flour), then add oil and sugar.

3. Knead the dough with your hands until smooth and not sticky, then divided the dough into balls.

4. Put the custard into the glutinous rice and repeat the steps until the custard and glutinous rice dough is used up.

5. In a pot filled with water, pandan leaves, sliced ginger, and palm sugar. Bring it to a boil, turn it to low heat and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.

6. Put the glutinous rice balls into the pot and give it a stir to prevent the rice balls from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook the rice balls until they begin to float to the top of the pot. Serve hot and enjoy!!