Sunday 6 June 2021

Lockdown Day #6 : Sweet Potato Balls

Today I went grocery shopping with my partner and it was not as good as last week because Aeon reverted to opening at 10:00 am (last week it was 9:00 am).

Even though we were early, it felt crowded because everyone was crowding at the fresh produce section. As usual there were people who were oblivious to fact that they are not the only ones who want to shop. Physical distancing just went out the window.

I waited like forever for this moron man to pick a packet of spring onions. He inspected every packet and went through 4 or 5 before deciding on a packet. I felt like giving him a punch in the face. Sorry for having violent thoughts.

I meant to pick up some leafy greens for my soups but there were too many people. So I just picked up vegetables that were placed where there were less people - carrots, cabbage and two packets of salad mix. 

It occurred to me then that my kimchi jigae is the best solution for now since there are tasty vegetables (napa cabbage, daikon, carrots, spring onions) in the stew and it is so versatile since I can add things like tofu, meatballs, prawns, eggs and noodles.


When I got home, I put everything away and got ready to make more Sweet Potato Balls. My dough was pre-made (a month ago) and kept frozen.


There were leftovers from yesterday and one more portion of dough that I defrosted last night. I had some issues with both the dough - the one with purple sweet potato was a bit dry while the one with orange sweet potato was too moist.


So with the purple I had to add about a teaspoon of water and with the orange dough, a little more flour. Knead, knead, knead until the dough came together with the correct consistency. 


I had to roll them into ropes, cut into segments and rolled into balls.


I also got ready my tools for the trade, a perforated ladle and one with a wire mesh.


So I heated up a lot of oil and deep fried the dough balls.


I started with the purple ones (my favorite) and the balls behaved quite well in the oil. They did not stick together and I kept stirring the oil to make sure that they don't clump together and that they were evenly fried.


I used the wire mesh ladle to press the balls. 


They expanded very nicely to become bigger balls.


The orange dough was a disaster. The balls got stuck together in spite of me stirring the oil. I reckon it is because the dough was (still) too moist.


The next batch (which was defrosted last night and not the leftovers from yesterday) fared much better. The dough was not as moist and I had let it stand for a while (so it dried out a bit) as I fried the first two batches of dough. 


So there you have it. The purple sweet potato ones yielded the best result and I noted that among all the three dough, it was the drier one. So I can conclude that the dough must not be too moist or else the balls will stick together when fried.


See, all clumpy and deflated.


So sad.


The purples ones were very robust, while with the orange ones there were some that deflated.


I still have to make adjustments to the dough and also the frying time. This I think boils down to practice and experience will tell you when the dough feels right and when to remove the balls from the oil.


But this is not something I would want to make on a regular basis because it is deep fried and uses so much oil. 


Now, the moment of truth. Do these Sweet Potato Balls have a hollow inside?


Sadly no. But I am not sad because I actually like the doughy chewy insides. Crispy on the outside and chewy to the bite. But still....these are supposed to be hollow.


Where did I go wrong? Did the freezing affect the way the dough behaved when deep fried? I guess I will have to try again with freshly made dough to find out.


Whatever it is, these Sweet Potato Balls are so addictive. How many balls did I fry? I don't know because I didn't count. But what I know is I ate them all wahahahaha!!!

I shall close off the post with today's antics by Girl and Belle Belle.

Ignoring each other.

Girl gets into her cutesie pose.

Belle Belle : Attack!!!

And then a peck on the head.

After that they raced each other up the stairs.

I hope you had a good Sunday.

16 comments:

  1. Great job! You did manage to get quite a lot of perfect ones even though there were some disasters. Well, ithe test of the pudding is in the eating - as long as they taste great!

    Ya, that is why I'd rather go to the small shops in a quiet neighbourhood even if the things may be more expensive. Supermarkets are often crowded and they never keep their distance. I was at one sometime ago an I pretended to cough...and everyone fled for their lives. Pandai takut juga!!! LOL!!!

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    1. They did taste great and there is room for improvement.

      These days an innocent cough or sneeze can bring so much fear. LOL!

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    2. You are right. That day someone coughed in the public and I saw a man quickly covered his mouth. LOL!

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  2. Your sweet potato balls look nice. Mine always turn out greasy. One blogger said use the yellow sweet potato( I think e.g like the japanese sweet potato). The orange sweet potato is too wet.

    https://www.lynnskitchenjournal.com/2021/02/sweet-potato-balls-khanom-kai-nok-krata.html

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  3. I made it once. Yes, it used a lot of oil as the balls soak the oil.

    Your potato balls so pretty and tempting.

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    1. Thanks. When the oil is very hot, the balls won't absorb a lot of oil.

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  4. I still don't dare to go into a Mall's supermarkets. Even those places without any customers are not safe when suddenly a customer enters the shop and stands close to us oblivious of the distance. Maybe they have been vaccinated. I also like doughy chewy balls so I would love your sweet potatoes balls. Belle Belle likes to kacao Girl and hope both have fun racing each other. Hehehehehe, not so fun for mommy having to tidy up after their playtime. Thank you mommy, both girls say.

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    1. hee..hee.. Belle Belle is the cheeky one who will do the kacau-ing but sometimes she gets aggressive. That's when she gets a spanking from mommy.

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  5. Aiyoyo, the last photo so affectionate! ;) Your two girls are fast becoming best buds. That's just them playing with one another (the 2nd photo I think is Girl inviting Belle to play).

    Oh, so you didn't get hollow centres but never mind-lah, your balls got more filling to eat then...hee..hee. They do look lovely on the outside...especially the purple ones. I see you also prefer the purple sweet potato (better flavour & taste, right?). Wow...you ate them all? And you didn't count...let me count for you *evil mode on* More than 50 balls? Wuahahahaha! I think the frozen dough definitely made a difference coz when they defrost, I expect there'll be some water content in the dough. Did you break (or bend) one of your ladles in the process of pressing your dough? Lol. I thought you're supposed to press the dough between the two ladles? The cooking process looks rather tedious, so better for the lazy me to buy them. That way I can also practise portion control at 10 balls...hehe! ;)

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    1. Sometimes their play looks rough, like fighting to me. Belle Belle does get aggressive sometime with hissing and all. When that happens, I give her a smack on her rump to let her know not to behave like that.

      hahahaha!! Did I eat 50+ balls? They are so easy to eat, did not feel the numbers at all. LOL! That ladle is like that, I did not bend it and it is at the perfect angle for pressing. I tried pressing the balls between the ladles but it was quite tricky and I discovered I could press them against the bottom of the pot. Definitely easier to buy, that's for sure! Those balls would have cost me RM25. LOL!

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  6. Wow, kudos to you for taking all the trouble to make potato balls! Still very good looking and I like the chewy ones compared to the hollow ones. Yes, makan minyak a lot, at least yours jadi.. that day I tried frying yam with sweet potatos and neen koe, it was a disaster! Have to throw everything away... no more frying, will rather just buy a piece or two to eat! hahaha...

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    1. Sorry to hear about your disaster! I agree, I would rather pay for someone else to do it. LOL!

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  7. These potato balls would made very nice snack. Looks so colourful and tempting with the purple and orange colours. Sunday, oh what I did do and eat on Sunday? Oh I went Daiso and OG Chinatown, bought a silver necklace at OG. Then I dabao Indian Rojak to eat.

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    1. Wah! Indian Rojak! I haven't had that for quite some time now. I miss it.

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  8. PH, actually you have to do the pressing a few time then only the hollow center will appear. Try again next time!

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