Sweet potato balls are a fantastic energy booster for you any time of the day. They're easy to make, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian. And as you can easily pick and eat them with your hand, they're also perfect for parties and gatherings!
Sweet Potato Balls - Thai Style
Sweet potato balls, known as khanom man tip (ขนมมันทิพย์) in Thai, are the perfect snack to boost your energy any time of the day, a great finger food, and also a great source of fiber.
Originally, they are made with cassava on a charcoal burner. This charcoal grilling method is to give them that amazingly pleasant smell and outside texture. Conveniently enough, this also prevents each ball from sticking to each other.
But since charcoal grilling is not so much an everyday cooking method, I've decided to use an oven with this recipe so that everyone who has an over can easily follow. So, in a way, you can call them baked sweet potato balls, I guess?
Anyway, If you're not convinced yet, these balls, like mango sticky rice, sticky rice pudding with corn, Thai pumpkin in coconut milk, and tubtim grob, contain coconut milk and you definitely don't want to miss out on them!
Video Tutorial
Types of Sweet Potatoes to Use
Don't stress about not being able to find cassava. On the streets in Thailand these days, you get anything from cassava to orange sweet potato, purple sweet potato, and even taro balls. We tend to consider these foods to be in the same category and at times use them interchangeably (only at times!). So, you can use any type of sweet potatoes you can find.
Perfect Sweet Potato Recipe for Thanksgiving and Halloween
Although these are Thai-style sweet potato balls and we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Thailand, I think they make a perfect treat or side dish at your Thanksgiving dinner.
And how can we forget about Halloween when we see how orangey they can be? Add eyes on them and BAM! You have your little monster balls.
Since these sweet potato balls are delicious, easy to pick and eat with your hand, they're sure to be a crowd-pleaser at any party or gathering. Not to mention all the fun you can have, making them with your family or friends.
Healthy Sweet Potato Snack
If you want this sweet potato recipe to be healthier, you can use less sugar and salt or even none at all. I've tried that before when I was more strict with my diet and the sweet potato balls were still good. Just remember you still need to use the baking powder though.
Also, you might want to adjust the amount of coconut milk to make sure you can roll the sweet potatoes into balls.
Ingredients
- 1 ear of corn
- 1 ½ cups or 125 milliliters of coconut milk
- 2.7 ounces or 75 grams of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 10.6 ounces or 300 grams of orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 10.6 ounces or 300 grams of purple sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the corn, boil for 5 minutes, and set aside.
- Set a small pan on low heat, add the coconut milk, sugar, salt, baking powder and stir with a spoon until everything is dissolved and combined. There is no need to bring this to a boil.
- Fill half a large pot with water and bring it to a hard boil (you can use the same pot you used to boil the corn). Add a steamer on top and place all the sweet potatoes in it. Then, cover with a lid and steam for 30 minutes.
- Cut the corn off the cob and separate the kernels.
- Take your mortar and pestle and roughly pound the sweet potatoes in the mortar, one color at a time, before transferring to 2 large bowls. You don't want the potatoes to be too fine. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use a bowl and a spoon.)
- Add half of the corn and half of the coconut syrup to each sweet potato bowl and mix with a spoon.
- With your hand, take about 1 ½ tablespoons of the sweet potato mixture and roll into a ball. Repeat until finished.
- Bake your sweet potato balls at 302°F or 150°C for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Note that you might want to preheat your oven if you're using a large oven.
Storing and Reheating
If you don't finish them within one sitting, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To reheat, simply pop them in the microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato Balls Recipe | Khanom Mantip (ขนมมันทิพย์)
Ingredients
- 1 ear corn
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk
- 2.7 ounces sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10.6 ounces orange sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 10.6 ounces purple sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the corn, boil for 5 minutes, and set aside.
- Set a small pan on low heat, add the coconut milk, sugar, salt, baking powder and stir with a spoon until everything is dissolved and combined. There is no need to bring this to a boil.
- Fill half a large pot with water and bring it to a hard boil (you can use the same pot you used to boil the corn). Add a steamer on top and place all the sweet potatoes in it. Then, cover with a lid and steam for 30 minutes.
- Cut the corn off the cob and separate the kernels.
- Take your mortar and pestle and roughly pound the sweet potatoes in the mortar, one color at a time, before transferring to 2 large bowls. You don't want the potatoes to be too fine. (If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use a bowl and a spoon.)
- Add half of the corn and half of the coconut syrup to each sweet potato bowl and mix with a spoon.
- With your hand, take about 1 ½ tablespoons of the sweet potato mixture and roll into a ball. Repeat until finished.
- Bake your sweet potato balls at 302°F or 150°C for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. Note that you might want to preheat your oven if you're using a large oven.
