Chewy Candil Ubi Biji Salak
This post may contain affiliate links.Candil Ubi Biji Salak is an Indonesian dessert made of sweet potatoes. It is usually served at break fasting session in the fasting month. These little dough balls are soft and chewy, and soaked in a sweet coconut sauce which has a little salty flavor. It is a perfect dessert, warm or cold!
Biji Salak is originally made with sweet potato so the color is brown orange. It is mixed with tapioca flour and shaped round into small balls. The dough balls are then boiled and served with coconut milk sauce.
In Asian countries, this kind of dessert made of sweet potatoes with tapioca pearl is served during fasting month as an opening before a large meal. People who fast start break fasting with sweet desserts.
Candil ubi or biji salak can be paired with many Indonesian dishes for Idul Fitri celebrations. The dishes that usually accompany this kind of dessert are Chicken Rendang, Ayam Balado and Chicken Curry.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Recipe Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Sweet potatoes – Any kind of sweet potatoes can be used here. I used the purple and orange ones. I doubled the recipe so there are two dough colors.
Coconut milk – Canned coconut milk is fine to use.
How to Make
STEP 1. Steam the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes or until soft (Image 1). Test with a fork, you should be able to poke it to the center. Let it cool down for a while. Peel the sweet potatoes (Image 2). It should be easy. Add tapioca flour, salt, and water (Images 3, 4).
STEP 2. Knead and mix until well-blended (Image 5). Take half tablespoon of the dough and shape it round like a ball (Image 6). Boil some water in a pot. Put the dough balls into the boiling water (Image 7). They will float when cooked (Image 8).
STEP 3. Take out the floated dough balls and transfer them to a bowl of water to cool them down (Images 9, 10). In another pot, mix together coconut milk, sugar, salt, rice flour, and pandan leaves (Image 11). Put it on low heat. Stir once in a while with a ladle. Let it simmer (Image 12) and turn off the stove. The texture should be creamy.
Pro Tips
- Peel the sweet potatoes while still warm. Be careful of scalding your hands when it is still very hot.
- You can use a food processor to mash the sweet potatoes and mix it together with other ingredients.
- Rounding the dough balls can be time consuming. Use a measuring spoon to scoop it faster.
How to Serve
Put some cooked dough balls into a bowl. Pour in coconut milk. You can add pulut hitam at the side. Enjoy warm or cold with some ice cubes!
Other than pulut hitam, you can also add cooked pearl sago and corn pudding to make it look more colorful.
Pair this exotic dessert with a glass of Lemon Ginger Tea or Red Ginger Tea.
FAQs about Biji Salak
You can use taro. It has harder texture but still chewable.
The whole ingredients are fine for vegans.
It is best consumed within the day of the making. They cannot last long. If you really have to keep it in the refrigerator, do not keep it longer than a day.
Storage
Biji salak is best consumed on the day it is made. You can still get the chewy texture and the coconut milk sauce is still very fresh.
Uncooked biji salak can be kept in the refrigerator for one day only. I have tried keeping them in the refrigerator for more than 2 days, they crumble easily.
Same thing happens to the cooked candil. Cooked biji salak is best consumed on the day it is boiled. You can only keep it one day in the chiller.
Separate the coconut milk sauce in a different container.
More Asian Dessert Recipes
- If you love sweet potatoes with coconut milk, you can try Talam Labu or Talam Ubi Ungu. They are steamed rice cake.
- Kuih Seri Muka
- Kuih Kosui
- Wajik
- Kue Awuk
Candil Ubi Biji Salak
Ingredients
- 250 gr sweet potatoes purple or regular sweet potatoes
- 75 gr tapioca flour
- 1 gr salt
- 75 cc water
Coconut Milk Sauce
- 500 cc coconut milk 100 ml instant coconut milk + 400 ml water
- 2 pcs pandan leaves
- 90 gr sugar
- 2 gr salt
- 1 tbsp rice flour
Instructions
- Steam the sweet potatoes for 30 minutes or until soft. Test with a fork, you should be able to poke it to the center. Let it cool down for a while. Peel the sweet potatoes. It should be easy. Add tapioca flour, salt, and water.
- Knead and mix until well-blended. Take half tablespoon of the dough and shape it round like a ball. Boil some water in a pot. Put the dough balls into the boiling water. They will float when cooked.
- Take out the floated dough balls and transfer them to a bowl of water to cool them down. In another pot, mix together coconut milk, sugar, salt, rice flour, and pandan leaves. Put it on low heat. Stir once in a while with a ladle. Let it simmer and turn off the stove. The texture should be creamy.
Video
Notes
- Peel the sweet potatoes while still warm. Be careful of scalding your hands when it is still very hot.
- You can use a food processor to mash the sweet potatoes and mix it together with other ingredients.
- Rounding the dough balls can be time consuming. Use a measuring spoon to scoop it faster.
