What it is
Fried taro balls (芋頭丸 or 炸芋丸) are balls of mashed taro, deep-fried so the outside turns crisp while the inside stays dense and smooth. Some hide a piece of egg yolk in the middle. They are not the same as 芋圓, the chewy taro dumplings served in sweet soups. Restaurants serve them as a side dish, and stalls sell them as a snack.
How it is made
Taro is peeled, washed, cut up, steamed and mashed into a paste. The paste is rolled into balls, sometimes around egg yolk, and deep-fried until the shell is crisp. Some shops fry them only when ordered, so expect a short wait.
How to eat it
In restaurants they come as a side for the table to share. Stalls sell them by the piece, hot from the fryer. Let them cool a little before biting in, as the centre holds the heat.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Taro is the best-known crop of Jiaxian (甲仙), a hill district in inland Kaohsiung, and shops there sell taro ice cream and cookies. Syan Syang (仙香飲食店) in Jiaxian fills its taro balls with taro paste and egg yolk. In the city, Lao Yutou (老芋頭) in Lingya fries them to order.
- North
- At Taipei's Ningxia Night Market, Liu Yu Zai (劉芋仔), a stall running for more than 40 years, makes fried taro balls from Jiaxian taro, peeling, steaming and mashing it by hand.
