At the table
Let a freshly fried ball cool before biting. Choose plain or ask about seasoning powders.
Starch blends, frying fats and toppings vary by stall. Check the actual ingredients if avoiding wheat, milk or animal ingredients.
Starch blends, frying fats and toppings vary by stall. Check the actual ingredients if avoiding wheat, milk or animal ingredients.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Starch blends, frying fats and toppings vary by stall. Check the actual ingredients if avoiding wheat, milk or animal ingredients.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Gently sweet, with sweet-potato aroma.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Crisp outside, springy and often hollow inside.
- How it’s made
- Sweet-potato dough is shaped into balls and repeatedly pressed during frying to puff it up.
Starch blends, frying fats and toppings vary by stall. Check the actual ingredients if avoiding wheat, milk or animal ingredients.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Taiwan.
About this regional connection
Taiwan: Taiwanese night-market snack; no specific birthplace claimed.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有台式地瓜球吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A night-market favourite
Sweet potato balls are a Taiwanese night-market snack. Pressing them in the fryer helps create the contrast between a thin crisp shell and a springy centre.