Learn how to make Homemade Yam Paste at home! This delicious yam paste is so versatile and perfect as a filling for mooncakes, Asian pastries, cakes, buns and other desserts. Enjoy!
Watch How To Make Homemade Yam Paste – Recipe Video
Homemade Yam Paste is made from yam or taro roots which is a starchy root vegetable. This homemade yam paste uses steamed and blended yam that are cooked into a smooth paste. This tasty yam paste is suitable as mooncake filling, Asian pastries, cakes, buns and other desserts. It is very delicious because of the wonderful aroma from the yam / taro. The wonderful thing about making this yam paste is you can control and decide the sweetness of the yam paste as you desire.
If you love making your own mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival and have not tried this yam paste filling, you may just want to give this a try as the filling just taste amazing with the aroma of fresh yam or taro. Believe me, it is nothing like making it yourself. So let’s start cooking!
What is Yam Paste?
Yam Paste is another one of the Chinese pastry dessert fillings. It is made from fresh yam or taro roots which is a starchy root vegetable. The yam is first peeled, cut into slices and steamed till very soft. It is then blended into a smooth and creamy mixture. Lastly it is cooked with sugar and oil into a thick and sweet filling paste.
Ingredients You Need To Make Yam Paste
Yam
Purple Sweet Potato
Sugar
All-Purpose Flour
Cooked glutinous rice flour
Wheat starch
Cooking oil
Overview On How to Make Yam Paste
Prepare Ingredients:
Peel, cut and steam yam and purple sweet potato.
Add sugar and blend into a smooth and creamy mixture.
Cook Yam Paste:
Cook the yam mixture in a non-stick wok till the mixture thickens. Stir till yam paste leaves a trail when push through the middle of paste with a spatula.
Add all-purpose flour, cooked glutinous rice flour and wheat starch to thicken into yam paste.
Continue to cook using low heat until paste does not stick to pan and form into a dough.
Transfer yam paste on a plate and cool completely before use.
How to Store Yam Paste?
Transfer to a plate, spread to let it cool completely before storing.
You can portion it out, and wrap in a cling wrap and store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week. You may store in freezer after one week. Return the frozen yam paste to room temperature before using.
Choose bigger size yams. A helpful tip on how to choose yams: scrape the bottom of yam and if it feels powdery, then the yam is fresh and good.
When peeling yam skin, try to get rid of the hard skin or else the yam paste will not be fine and smooth. If there are dry yellow spots, it is not fresh so be sure to remove those spots.
Cut the yam into smaller / thin pieces, so that the steaming process to cook the yam can be faster.
To test if the steamed yam is cooked, use a chopstick or fork to prick the yam and if yam breaks easily, it is fully cooked.
Add about 1 cup of water into blender with the mashed yam and purple sweet potato. Can add more water if it is not blending smoothly.
Blend the steamed yam when hot. Otherwise the blended yam texture will not be smooth.
Cook the yam paste on low heating a non-stick wok and stir constantly till it becomes thick before adding flour paste.
To test if the yam paste is thick enough, use a spatula to push through the middle of the paste. If the paste falls back into place slowly then it is thick enough. If the yam paste has not thicken enough moist will be retain in the yam paste.
Keep the heat on low throughout the cooking process till the yam paste come together.
To know if the yam paste is done, simply pinch a little of the filling. If it stand erect, then it’s ready. When pressed down on the paste using your finger, it will leave a depression. Also the spatula will come clean of the paste when yam paste is ready.
Make sure the yam paste is cooled down completely before use (minimum 4 hours), preferably overnight if time is not a constraint.
Purple sweet potato is to give the yam paste a nice vibrant colour. Do not add too much purple sweet potato, otherwise it will overpower the taste of yam.
The flour paste gives the yam paste a slightly thicker texture.
Learn how to make Homemade Yam Paste at home! It's so amazingly easy to make this yourself. This delicious yam paste is so versatile and perfect as a filling for mooncakes, Asian pastries, cakes, buns and many other desserts. Enjoy!
Peel yam and purple sweet potatoes. Cut into small pieces.
Place on a heat resistance tray and put on steamer. Steam over high for 30 minutes, till very soft. Test for doneness. (Yam should be fork tender).
Remove the steamed yam and sweet potato from steamer. Transfer onto mixing bowl, add in sugar and briefly mash the steamed yam and sweet potatoes with a fork while they are still hot.
Add in enough water and blend with a mixer or blender till it is really smooth.
Prepare Flour Paste:
Meanwhile, in a small bowl make a flour paste for the yam. Mix all-purpose flour, koh fun and wheat starch together. Then add in cooking oil and stir well to combine. Then set aside and we can start to cook the yam paste.
Cooking Yam Paste:
Transfer the liquified smooth yam paste onto a non-stick pan. Cook the yam paste on low heat till thickened and stir constantly.
Stir till the yam paste thickens. To make sure the paste is thick enough, push the spatula through the middle of the paste and if it leaves a trail and only falls back into place slowly, then the paste is thick enough. Then add in the flour paste prepared earlier and mix it well with the yam paste.
Continue to stir using low heat till the yam paste comes together. The yam paste is ready when the spatula used is completely clean of the paste and leaves a depression when pressed using your finger. Also when pinched a little of the paste, if it stands then the paste is ready. And we are done!
Remove from heat and let the yam paste cool completely before use. Cling wrap to prevent drying. When cooled, can be formed into balls as a filling. Excess yam paste can be wrapped in cling wrap and keep refrigerated for about 1 week. You can also put in container and freeze it. Return frozen paste to room temperature before use.
This homemade yam paste can be rolled into balls and use as mooncake filling, buns and other Chinese dessert.
Choose bigger size yams. Scrape the bottom of yam and if it feels powdery, then the yam is good.
When peeling yam skin, try to get rid of the hard skin or else the yam paste will not be fine and smooth. If there are yellow spots, it is not fresh, Remove the spots
To test if the steamed yam is cooked, use a chopstick or fork to prick the yam and if yam breaks easily, it is fully cooked.
Blend the steamed yam when hot. Otherwise the blended yam texture will not be smooth.
Purple sweet potato is to give the yam paste a nice vibrant colour. Do not add too much purple sweet potato, otherwise it will overpower the taste of yam.
The flour paste gives the yam paste a slightly thicker texture.
Angie Liew (known as Huang) has a strong love for cooking from a young age. Being a self taught chef, she focuses on improving cooking recipes, simplifying and documenting cooking methods so that her great home cooked dishes can be served and shared among family and friends.
Have ready all ingredients to make Yam Paste.
Peel yam and purple sweet potatoes. Cut into small pieces.
Place on a heat resistance tray and put on steamer. Steam over high for 30 minutes, till very soft. Test for doneness. (Yam should be fork tender).
Remove the steamed yam and sweet potato from steamer. Transfer onto mixing bowl, add in sugar and briefly mash the steamed yam and sweet potatoes with a fork while they are still hot.
Add in enough water and blend with a mixer or blender till it is really smooth.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl make a flour paste for the yam. Mix all-purpose flour, koh fun and wheat starch together. Then add in cooking oil and stir well to combine. Then set aside and we can start to cook the yam paste.
Transfer the liquified smooth yam paste onto a non-stick pan. Cook the yam paste on low heat till thickened and stir constantly.
Stir till the yam paste thickens. To make sure the paste is thick enough, push the spatula through the middle of the paste and if it leaves a trail and only falls back into place slowly, then the paste is thick enough. Then add in the flour paste prepared earlier and mix it well with the yam paste.
Continue to stir using low heat till the yam paste comes together. The yam paste is ready when the spatula used is completely clean of the paste and leaves a depression when pressed using your finger. Also when pinched a little of the paste, if it stands then the paste is ready. And we are done!
Remove from heat and let the yam paste cool completely before use. Cling wrap to prevent drying. When cooled, can be formed into balls as a filling. Excess yam paste can be wrapped in cling wrap and keep refrigerated for about 1 week. You can also put in container and freeze it. Return frozen paste to room temperature before use.
This homemade yam paste can be rolled into balls and use as mooncake filling, buns and other Chinese dessert.