Kuih keria is the superior donut – these Malaysian donuts are light and fluffy, made from sweet potatoes and covered in a crunchy sand-like sugar coating.
This is the kind of donut you’ll see among street vendors in Malaysia. The dough is made from only three ingredients, the main one being orange sweet potatoes. It’s so simple, but somehow the kuih keria comes out incredibly light and fluffy on the inside – it’s amazing.
Kuih keria isn’t completely without it’s iconic sugar coating, which beats a ‘light dusting of icing sugar’ by a million times. It has an almost sand-like texture, not in the ‘by-the-beach-sand-in-your-sandwich’ kind of way, but a ‘gives-textural-interest-to-the-pillowy-soft-donut’ kind of way. You get what I mean?
Notes to Make Kuih Keria
- The amount of flour depends on how wet or dry your sweet potatoes are. Go by feeling – it’s ok if the dough sticks to your hand a bit, but it shouldn’t be too sticky.
- Once the sugar syrup is bubbling and you see droplets drip off your spatula (not a stream of syrup), add in the donuts. Otherwise you won’t get the sandy coating.
- Flour prevents the coating from dissolving back into liquid after the donuts have cooled down.
More Malaysian street foods to make at home:
- Cekodok Pisang (Malay Fried Banana Bread Balls)
- Pulut Tai Tai/Pulut Tekan (Pressed Glutinous Rice Cake w/ Coconut Jam)
- Hee Pan 喜板 (Hakka Steamed Rice Cake)
- Ondeh-Ondeh (Pandan Glutinous Rice Balls w/ Coconut Palm Sugar)
- Peanut Muah Chee 花生麻糍
If you made this recipe, do leave a comment and rating below because I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to tag me on Instagram @eatwkriss so that I can see your recreations!
Kuih Keria (Malaysian Sweet Potato Donuts)
Ingredients
- 250 g orange sweet potato peeled and sliced
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp rice flour
- 70-100 g all-purpose flour
Sugar coating
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- flour
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt. Cook the sweet potato for 10 minutes, or until soft.
- Drain the potatoes, transfer to a clean bowl and mash them until smooth. Set aside until it is cool to touch.
- Mix in rice flour and all-purpose flour with a fork, switching to your hands once you get a dough. The amount of flour varies depending on how wet or dry your sweet potatoes are. You should get a soft and not so sticky dough.
- With greased hands, take a portion of dough (40g) and roll it into a ball. Poke a hole in the center with your finger to create a donut shape. Place on a baking tray/plate, and repeat with the rest of the dough.
- Prepare a large pan with at least 1-inch of cooking oil. Set the heat to medium-low. If bubbles appear when you insert a chopstick into the oil, it's ready to use.
- Fry the dough in batches for 3-4 minutes, until slightly brown. Remove from the oil, and increase to medium-high heat. Fry the donuts again, for 30-45 seconds until a dark golden brown. Place on a wire rack to drain any excess oil. Pour out the oil and let the pan cool slightly.
- To the pan, add sugar and water. Stir constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes bubbly and thick. Once you see droplets drip off your spatula, turn off the heat and add in the fried donuts. Make sure they are well coated in the sugar mixture, being careful not to break them with your spatula.
- Sprinkle some flour over everything and mix well. By now, the sugar liquid should have changed into a sand-like consistency.
- Let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- The amount of flour depends on how wet or dry your sweet potatoes are. Go by feeling – it’s ok if the dough sticks to your hand a bit, but it shouldn’t be too sticky.
- Once the sugar syrup is bubbling and you see droplets drip off your spatula (not a stream of syrup), add in the donuts. Otherwise you won’t get the sandy coating.
- Flour prevents the coating from dissolving back into liquid after the donuts have cooled down.
I tried this and it was awesome !
Its just that I added too much sweet potato so it became too doughy …
Other then that it was simple and easy to whip up ! Love your recipes and its so simple to follow… keep going !
I’m glad to hear that, Gabriell! Hehe sometimes it does take a bit of practice to know how the dough should feel like 🙂
It was sooo YUMMY and I love it so much! I love following your recipes .
Thank you, love!