Asian style sweet potato dumplings- vegan and gluten-free. Made with tapioca starch cover which is stuffed with sweet potatoes and coconut filling, these dumplings are chewy and have a very unique texture and taste.
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I love Asian food and dumplings are one of my favorite things to eat. I keep on collecting different dumpling recipes from different countries.
You will find a couple of savory dumpling recipes on my blog and today I am sharing a very unique sweet dumpling recipe- Asian style sweet potato dumplings.
These dumplings are made with tapioca starch which makes them very chewy. They have a very simple and subtly flavored stuffing made with sweet potatoes, shredded coconut, and coconut sugar. The cooked dumplings are soaked in coconut milk which not only makes is more delicious but also helps in managing their chewiness.
If you also like trying different dumpling recipes, then this unique Asian style sweet potato dumpling is a must try recipe.
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What goes in these sweet dumplings?
To make these vegan sweet potato dumplings, the following ingredients will be needed:
- Tapioca flour
- Sweet potato
- Shredded coconut
- Coconut milk
- Coconut sugar: Regular white sugar or jaggery powder can be used too.
- Black sesame seeds (optional)- for decorative purpose only.
- Water: Extremely hot bubbling water.
Can they be made in advance?
Once cooked, it's recommended to consume these sweet potato dumplings on the same day. Don't store them in the fridge otherwise, they will turn very chewy.
Also make sure there is a lot of coconut milk in the bowl. The dumplings should get submerged in the milk.
Freezing tips
You can't freeze these dumplings once they are cooked. However, you can freeze the uncooked dumplings.
To do that line a baking tray with a baking sheet and spread the dumplings on it. Make sure they don't touch each other. Put the tray in the freezer for at least 5-6 hours. Once frozen, shift them to a zip lock bag and put back in the freezer.
When you want to eat them, put the dumplings in boiling water and cook until they start floating. Once cooked put them in a bowl of coconut milk and enjoy.
Recipe tips & tricks
If you are using tapioca flour for the first time, please follow the below-given tips & tricks otherwise it will become impossible to handle it:
- Always use boiling hot water to knead the tapioca dough. The water should be bubbling hot otherwise the dough won't get formed.
- Don’t add water to the entire flour in one go. Divide the flour into two equal portions and add boiling water to half of it. Mix well with a spoon as the water will be very hot. Then gradually start adding the remaining half of the flour and more water to make the dough. Tapioca flour doesn’t need much kneading.
- Tapioca dough gets dry very easily and doesn’t need any resting time so keep the filling ready before preparing the dough.
- Keep the dough covered with a plastic film while making the dumplings. Don't use a damp kitchen napkin to cover the dough as the moisture from the napkin will make the dough sticky.
- Tapioca dumplings are very chewy so make small bite-size dumplings and don’t make the outer cover very thick otherwise it will be difficult to chew them and they won’t taste good.
- After cooking, these sweet potato dumplings become very sticky so don’t put them directly in a container. Instead, put them in a bowl filled with coconut milk otherwise it will be very difficult to handle them. The dumplings should get submerged in the milk.
- Don't put these dumplings in the fridge they will become very chewy. If you want to enjoy them chilled just pour some chilled coconut milk over them.
- These dumplings are mildly sweet, if you want to make them sweeter add some coconut sugar to the coconut milk.
Step by step photo instructions
More vegan dumpling recipes
Want to try more vegan dumpling recipes at home? Don't miss to check the following links:
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Recipe
Sweet Potato dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 cups tapioca flour
- 1 cup boiled & mashed sweet potato
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
- 400 ml coconut milk keep 2 tablespoons separate for the filling
- 1 cup boiling hot water adjust as required to make a soft dough
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix mashed sweet potato, shredded coconut, coconut sugar and 2 tablespoons of coconut milk. Keep it aside.
- Put around 1 cup of tapioca flour in a large bowl. Pour around ½ a cup of boiling water. Mix with the help of a spoon until everything starts coming together. Add the remaining flour. Keep on adding more boiling water and knead until a smooth elastic dough gets formed.
- Cover the dough with a plastic wrap or a wet kitchen towel. Just make sure that the wet towel doesn't touch the dough.
- While we make the dumplings put a large pot of water for boiling.
- Take a small portion of dough in your hands and press it between your palms to make a thin flat disc. You can also put the dough ball between a plastic wrap and then press to make the disc.
- Keep a small portion of the sweet potato filling at the center, bring all the edges together, and seal. Gently roll the ball between your palms to give it a neat round shape. Repeat this process with the remaining dough. Keep the dumplings covered with a plastic wrap or wet cloth until you start cooking them.
- Put dumplings in boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes or until they start floating on the boiling water.
- Fill a large bowl with coconut milk and put cooked dumplings in the milk.
- Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!
Notes
- Always use boiling hot water to knead the tapioca dough. If the water is not hot enough, you won't be able to make the dough.
- Don’t add the entire water and flour in one go. Take some portion of flour first and add some boiling water to it. Mix with a spoon as it will be very hot. Then gradually start adding the remaining flour and water. Knead into a dough using your hands. It doesn’t need much kneading.
- Tapioca dough gets dry very easily and doesn’t need any resting time so keep the filling ready and boil water before preparing the dough.
- Tapioca dumplings are very chewy so make small bite-size dumplings and don’t make the outer cover very thick otherwise it will be difficult to chew them and they won’t taste good.
- You can also put small balls of dough between a plastic wrap and then press to make small discs. Making thin discs will become easier this way.
- If you are covering the dough with a moist cloth, put the dough in a deep bowl and then put the cloth on top of the bowl. Make sure that the cloth doesn't touch the dough. Managing tapioca flour becomes impossible if it touches cold water.
- After cooking these dumplings become very sticky so don’t put them directly on a container. Instead, put them in a bowl filled with coconut milk otherwise it will be very difficult to handle them.
- This dish has a very mild sweetness and that's the way it's eaten traditionally. If you want to make them sweeter, add more sugar to the filling. You can also add sugar to the coconut milk.
I made potato dumpling yesterday, my family loved the dish.
Thanks a lot, Nancy for sharing your feedback. So happy to know that you and your family loved it 🙂