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Home » Sweet Potato Rice Balls

Sweet Potato Rice Balls

June 15, 2019 by Debi 6 Comments

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This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

These Sweet Potato Rice Balls are little sweet dessert treats. There’s a hidden sweet surprise inside these Ondeh Ondeh.

Sweet Potato Rice Balls in coconut (Ondeh Ondeh) on a grey plate with an Asian mat in the background

Thanks for being here

Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Sweet Potato Rice Balls or Ondeh Ondeh on a grey plate on top of the cookbook Rice. Noodles. Yum.

Rice. Noodles. Yum.

Note: this section contains affiliate links

Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh) from Abigail Sotto Raines’ new cookbook Rice. Noodles. Yum. Everyone’s favorite Southeast Asian dishes.

I’m very excited to share with you today, my lovely friend’s new cookbook. I’ve known Abby for a several years; she writes the blog Manila Spoon. And now I get to share my cookbook review with you.

a sweet potato rice ball in the front of the picture on a white napkin with a gray plate full of more rice balls

Abby has written a great, easy to follow book that’s filled with delicious Asian noodle and rice dishes.

Her book has 75 recipes, each with a picture (which is super important to me!).

The cookbook is filled with great recipes like this one! There are also fantastic recipes for authentic dishes like Pad See Ew, Mee Kati, and Goi Cuon.

These are great authentic recipes. They will inspire a trip to your local Asian market to gather ingredients so you can make these dishes right away! This is a must get book for anyone who loves Asian food!

The cover of the cookbook Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh) a sweet treat with a cookbook review of Rice. Noodles. Yum. by Abigail Sotto Raines

Ondeh Ondeh

I chose to make Abby’s Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh) from the sweet cravings chapter of the book.

These are fun, and really different than most Americans are used to. So, I thought I’d share something fun and out of the ordinary.

Of course, I had to take some time to make one of the more traditional noodle dishes for myself for dinner.

I also made her Easy Mie Goreng or Indonesian Stir-Fried Noodles from page 106 of the book.

I used fried tofu in mine and not prawns or shrimp. It was delicious! We will make this one again and again. And, it’s nice and easy to make. I might have to buy a big wok so I can make it more often!

Easy Mie Goreng or Indonesian Stir-Fried Noodles on a brown plate with fried tofu, bok choy, and cabbage

Recipe ingredient notes

Sweet potatoes

The sweet potatoes are just the regular red or orange fleshed sweet potatoes that come from the grocery store.

I tried to buy purple sweet potatoes from the Asian market, as I thought they would be beautiful!

But alas, when I cut into the purple skinned sweet potatoes, I found them to be simply white inside. So, off to the regular grocery store I went to get orange sweet potatoes. And they are just as tasty.

A package of palm sugar, a can of coconut milk, and a package of glutinous rice flour

Sticky or glutinous rice flour

Sticky or glutinous rice flour {affiliate link} is something you should be able to find at a well stocked Asian market or international market. You can also order it from Amazon.

It’s different than regular plain rice flour, and they will produce different textures, so be sure to get sticky or glutinous rice flour.

shredded palm sugar on a white plate with the palm sugar package behind the plate and the box grater in the very back

Dark palm sugar or coconut sugar

Dark palm sugar or coconut sugar {affiliate link} might also be found at a well stocked Asian market.

Palm sugar and coconut sugar (which is a type of palm sugar) is an unrefined sweetener that’s often sold in solid form like blocks, that need to be grated, shredded (like on the large holes of a box grater), softened, or melted.

Unfortunately for me, my store did not have dark palm sugar. I purchased {affiliate link} palm sugar instead, and I’m super impressed by the flavor. It’s not just sweet like granulated white sugar. It’s complex and I wanted to eat it just like candy.

Palm sugar has a similar taste to regular dark brown sugar, which can be used as a substitute if you can’t find palm or coconut sugar.

a sweet potato rice ball that's been cut open so you can see the melted palm sugar inside

Flaked or shredded coconut

I used {affiliate link} this kind of flaked coconut, which you can easily buy at most grocery stores.

If using dried coconut, simply steam over boiling water for 15 minutes to rehydrate.

Coconut Milk

I used {affiliate link} coconut milk and not water in my dough. I love the flavor of coconut milk, and I think it made the dessert balls tasty!

The rice cooker turned into a steamer with the sweet potatoes in the steamer basket

Recipe notes

To steam the sweet potatoes, I placed the peeled and sliced spuds in the steamer basket for my rice cooker. Fill the bowl of the rice cooker about 1/3 full of water, cover, and turn the rice cooker on cook. Wait for the water to boil, and the place the steamer basket over the boiling water and recover the potatoes.

Once the sweet potatoes were tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, I passed them through {affiliate link} the potato ricer, which made short work of mashing them.

Uncooked sweet potato rice balls on parchment paper

Techniques and methods

I found it easier to work with the dough if I floured my hands with the glutinous rice flour, as the dough is a little sticky. Also, I floured the work surfaces.

I used a {affiliate link} cookie dough scoop to easily scoop out the 1 tablespoon of sweet potato dough.

I placed the filled dough balls onto parchment paper as I made them all, and I placed the boiled treats on a separate sheet of parchment paper after they came out of the boiling water and were rolled in the coconut.

If you love Asian desserts, be sure to check out my Sticky Coconut Cake (Wingko Babat)!

Cooked Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh) rolled in coconut on parchment paper

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Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh) close up on a gray plate

Recipe

Sweet Potato Rice Balls or Ondeh Ondeh on a grey plate on top of the cookbook Rice. Noodles. Yum.

Sweet Potato Rice Balls (Ondeh Ondeh)

Debi
These Sweet Potato Rice Balls are little sweet dessert treats. There’s a hidden sweet surprise inside these Ondeh Ondeh.
5 from 5 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe
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Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Indonesian
Servings 28 balls
Calories 54 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 medium sized purple or orange sweet potatoes peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup sticky or glutinous rice flour
  • 2-4 tablespoons coconut milk or water
  • ½ cup shaved dark palm or coconut sugar
  • 4 cups water or more as needed for boiling the dough balls
  • 1 cup flaked or shredded coconut steamed if needed

Instructions
 

  • Steam the sweet potatoes over rapidly boiling water for 10-20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. Mash the cooked potatoes, then measure about 1 ½ cups of the mashed sweet potatoes. (You may have some left over.) Mix the mashed potatoes with the rice flour. Pour the coconut milk or water, 1 tablespoon at a time into the potato and flour mixture, and knead until a smooth, pliable dough forms.
  • Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the dough, and shape it into a small ball, creating a well or hollow space in the center using your thumbs. Place about ¾ to 1 teaspoon of shaved palm sugar in the center of the well. Fold the edges of the dough up over the sugar, and reshape into a ball. Make sure that the sugar does not leak out on any side. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Set aside.
  • Fill a medium saucepan about halfway with the water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat, then gently drop the balls into the water, working in batches. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the balls begin to float to the surface. Scoop the floating rice balls out of the boiling water with a strainer, and shake off the excess water, then roll in the flaked coconut.
  • Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.

Notes

Makes about 8 servings, or 28 balls

Nutrition

Calories: 54kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 21mgPotassium: 49mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 1315IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 0.2mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword coconut, rice, sweet potato
Tried this recipe?Mention @LifeCurrents or tag #LifeCurrents!
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Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts, Gifts, Vegan Tagged With: Breakfast, coconut, coconut milk, Cooking, desserts, Food, recipe, rice, sweet potato, vegan, vegetarian

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about debi

ABOUT DEBI

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read more...

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandra Shaffer

    June 16, 2019 at 3:40 pm

    5 stars
    Oooh, nice choice of recipes to pick. Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite veggies and I’m always looking for new recipes. I could eat a half dozen in one sitting of these dessert balls. Now I can’t wait to get my own copy of this cookbook!

  2. Michaela Kenkel

    June 18, 2019 at 6:36 am

    5 stars
    Oh my word, Debi!! These turned out perfectly! I am LOVING Abby’s new cookbook, and now I have yet another recipe I can’t wait to try!!

  3. Renee Goerger

    June 29, 2019 at 6:33 am

    5 stars
    I’m super excited to have this recipe. I don’t usually cook Indonesian food, but these really caught my eye! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!!

  4. Gloria

    June 29, 2019 at 6:36 am

    5 stars
    I have NEVER tried these. I LOVE rice. These look like a fun little project. What a cute idea for a dessert at a party. Easy to pick up and eat as you walk around and mingle. PLUS…you can never have too many cookbooks in my opinion.

  5. Ellen

    June 29, 2019 at 11:32 am

    5 stars
    These sound delicious! i’m always looking for recipes to get my kids involved and this looks perfect.

  6. Jenni

    July 15, 2019 at 9:55 am

    The recipe and the cookbook both sound great–thanks so much for sharing!

5 from 5 votes

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Hi! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents, where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes with some great desserts and other goodies mixed in! Read More >>>

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