Taiwanese Sweet Soup (Sweet Potato Balls & Matcha Balls)
Taiwanese Sweet Soup is a refreshing and chewy dessert made with soft syrup and colorful homemade balls — often served over ice or warm in syrup. Traditionally featuring taro balls, this dessert is a staple in Taiwanese night markets and dessert shops, usually paired with grass jelly, tofu pudding (douhua), or shaved ice.In this version, we’re making two fun and easy variations: sweet potato balls and matcha balls. Both offer beautiful color and distinct flavor — the sweet potato adds natural sweetness and a soft orange hue, while the matcha brings a touch of earthy bitterness and vibrant green.This Taiwanese-style dessert is light, cooling, and perfect for summer. Plus, it’s easy to customize with what you have on hand — a great way to introduce Asian desserts to any home kitchen.
Equipment
- Hand Mixer
- Pot
- steamer or instant pot
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Balls
- 100 g sweet potato
- 180 g tapioca starch
- 30 g sugar
Matcha Balls
- 10 g matcha powder
- 80 g tapioca starch
- 40 g white sugar
- 30 g potato starch
- 100 ml water
Syrup
- 100 g golden sugar
- 500 ml water
Instructions
Make sweet potato ball
- We make sweet potato balls first. Peel and cube sweet potato on the plate. Steam sweet potato for 10 min until soft. (Note: You can cook sweet potatoes in a food steamer or instant pot.)
- Put the hot sweet potato into a mixing bowl. Add tapioca starch and sugar into the mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer until form a soft dough.(Note: Some of the sweet potatoes are watery or dry. You can add more tapioca starch or a little water depends on different sweet potatoes varieties.)
- Roll the dough into a thick strip and dice into pieces. Place aside.
Make matcha ball
- Add the tapioca starch, potato starch, and matcha powder into a mixing bowl. Mix well and place aside.
- Add white sugar and water into a pot on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
- Pour the hot syrup into the mixing powders and stir with rolling ping until form a soft dough.
- Again, roll the matcha dough into a thick strip and dice into pieces. Place aside.
Taiwanese sweet soup
- Now, we are making syrup. Add golden sugar and water in a pot on medium heat until boiling. Remove from the heat.
- Cook the sweet potato balls and matcha balls in boiled water for 3~5 minutes on medium heat until they float to the top. Then drain the balls.
- Place the balls into a bowl and add syrup.
- Serve Taiwanese Sweet Soup. Finish and enjoy
Serving & Storage Tips
Best served immediately after cooking. Balls can be stored in the fridge (uncooked) for 1 day. Once cooked, store in syrup for up to 6 hours to maintain texture.
