Start your day off with this perfect Taiwanese-American fusion! This granola is inspired by Taro Milk (芋頭牛奶), a very popular drink in Taiwan and something I grew up drinking.
Knowing that potatoes/sweet potatoes are often used as a binder for granola, I figured taro must work as well. The result is a crispy, toasty granola with a mild vanilla undertone from the taro. As you eat it, the taro flavors slowly infuse with the milk to become taro milk!
Taro Paste
By itself, taro flesh usually has a white or pale pink color. To get the familiar purple color, you can to add some purple sweet potatoes. Pictured above are Okinawan Hawaiian Purple Sweet Potatoes.
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Taro Granola (Vegan)
Course: BreakfastCuisine: Taiwanese, AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
- Taro Paste
1 small -medium Okinawan (Purple) Sweet Potato
3 lb. fresh taro
- Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup Taro Paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Dry Ingredients
1.5 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/4 cup raw walnuts
Directions
- Wrap the Purple Sweet Potato (whole, unpeeled) in aluminum foil and roast it in a 400 degrees F (204 C) oven for 50 minutes to an hour, or until tender to a parring knife. Once it’s done, take it out and let cool.
- Wash and peel the Taro. Roughly chop the taro into large cubes and cook them in boiling water until tender, around 25-30 minutes. Once it’s done, pour out the water and let cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Mash the Purple Sweet Potato and the Taro with a fork and combine the two purees. Mix well.
- Prepare the dry ingredients by mixing rolled oats, almonds, pecans, and walnuts.
- Prepare the wet ingredients. In a small-medium sized pot, heat up the vegetable oil on low heat. Add the taro paste and maple syrup, and whisk to combine. Cook for one minute and set aside.
- Thoroughlly combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients. Spread the mixture to a one-sheet thickness on a parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 30-33 minutes total — gently stir the granola at the half-way point (about 15 minutes in). A good way to tell when the granola is done is by feeling the middle — the middle will be the last part to dry up / harden. After baking, let the granola cool for at least 15 minutes before packing it into a glass jar.
Notes
- I used a three-nut mix of almonds, pecans, and walnuts, but you can use any type of nuts you prefer.
- Stirring at the halfway point of baking helps break up the granola. If you like more chunks in your granola, stir more gently so the granola sheets stay more intact.
Omg okkk I see u taro 👀 💜