地瓜圆: Sweet Potato "Bubbles"

Three kinds of sweet potato

 You know the chewy texture of the tapioca bubbles in bubble tea? In Chinese, it's described as "Q." I titled this post "Sweet Potato 'Bubbles'" because 地瓜圆 (di gua yuan) have that kind of texture. They also have all the sweet deliciousness of a sweet potato. They're made from three ingredients: sweet potatoes, tapioca flour, and water. Tapioca flour can be found in some supermarkets (I've seen it at ShopRite) and Asian supermarkets.

To make these delicious bubbles, cook, peel, and mash the sweet potatoes (microwave, oven, steam, your choice), then combine in a 10:3 ratio by weight with tapioca flour. Add a tablespoonful of boiling water, and use your hands to knead the mixture into a dough. Depending on the sweet potato, you may need to add more flour or more water. The dough should be pretty easy to mold.




For the following steps, I like to work on a cutting board protected with a piece of plastic wrap. Break off pieces of dough and roll them into cylinders that are about a half-inch in diameter. Use a knife to chop the cylinders into pieces about 3/4 of an inch long. (The size really doesn't matter).

Shaved ice with bubbles and mung bean

At this point, you can freeze your sweet potato bubbles. From room temperature or the freezer, the following cooking process is the same. Boil some water, then gently drop the bubbles into the water with a spoon, stirring to prevent them from sticking to the pot. Keep the water at a simmer and stir occasionally. When the bubbles float to the surface of the water, they should be ready. Taste one just to make sure--it shouldn't taste floury.

The bubbles can be eaten hot or cold--once cooked, they can cool to room temperature without getting mushy, but I wouldn't put them in the refrigerator. I like to eat these with hot water with brown sugar dissolved in it. These are also commonly found as a topping for Taiwanese shaved ice (baobing).

Taro bubbles

You're not limited to sweet potatoes for this recipe. Also note that sweet potatoes tend to need a lot more tapioca flour. Taro, a potato-like root vegetable that's featured in both savory dishes and desserts, is another common type of bubble. I've also tried pumpkin. There are so many possibilities--so get some tapioca flour and try this out!

Peanut Butter Honey Rice Krispies Treats

As the first weekend of the spring semester rolled around, the weather outside was frightful. Below freezing. No way I was going to leave the building unless I had to. Instead, I made food. Lots of food. I made some cookie truffles--Oreo, Nutter Butter and KitKat and Crunch and Peanut M&M and Whopper, Lorna Doone and banana and vanilla pudding--to empty the food cabinet a bit. My floor devoured them.

I also made peanut butter honey bars to have on hand for breakfast when my roommate is asleep. Except I ate a quarter of the pan when they were done, snacked on them, and had them for breakfast even though she wasn't here. That's how delicious they were. Fortunately, I have enough to last me the three mornings I get up earlier than her this week. Unfortunately, I don't have any for next week, and I'm not going to be here over the holiday weekend so I can't make more.

I found a bunch of variations on Pinterest and molded them into this recipe. The honey taste was too strong for me, though, so I'm going to try increasing the peanut butter-to-honey ratio next time (and trust me, there will be a next time!). Here are some other versions (note that they all have different ratios of peanut butter and honey):

What I did, but with Trader Joe's O's
Made with oats
Or how about with Raisin Bran?


Here's what I ended up doing.

PEANUT BUTTER HONEY RICE KRISPIES TREATS

Ingredients:

½ cup peanut butter

½ cup honey

4 cups Rice Krispies cereal (or 3 cups of any other cereal or oats)

Directions:

1. Line a pan with foil or parchment paper, or spray it with cooking spray.

2. Combine peanut butter and honey in a microwave-safe bowl. (I used a 1/4-cup measure because my 1/2-cup is in my tub of oats, which is why there are two blobs of peanut butter.)

3. Microwave peanut butter and honey on HIGH for 1 minute; stir well.

4. Add cereal and stir well.

6. Press into the lined pan.

7. Cool, then cut into bars.

I've been eating these straight from the freezer, and I love the consistency. However, I'm pretty sure our freezer is a little less cold than most. According to the other posts I've read, these can get a little gooey at room temperature, but try and see what works for you!

I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow. Can you guess why? (Hint: I'm getting up earlier than my roomie.)