• Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • Pantry
  • Shop
  • subscribe
  • Home
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • EASY RECIPES
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • BY CUISINE
    • Asian Fusion
    • Chinese
    • Peranakan/Nyonya
    • CAMBODIA
    • LAOS
    • INDONESIAN
    • Indonesian Chinese
    • MALAYSIA
    • MYANMAR
    • SINGAPORE
    • Singapore Hawker Food
    • THAILAND
    • VIETNAM
  • BY COURSE
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • INGREDIENTS
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • SOURDOUGH
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • BREAD & BUNS
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • CAKES/COOKIES/PASTRIES
    • Cakes
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Cookies
    • Kue/Kueh
    • No-Bake Dessert
  • DIETARY
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Cooking
    • Christmas Baking
What To Cook Today
What To Cook Today
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Prosperity Yam Ring Basket (Chinese New Year)

written by Marvellina Updated: February 13, 2022
12K
PIN RECIPE COMMENTS VIEW RECIPE RECIPE VIDEO
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Mashed yam/taro is shaped into a ring and then fried and filled with stir-fry chicken and vegetables or any filling of your choice and served on a bed of crispy rice stick noodles. This is a popular Chinese New Year food you can easily make at home.
Prosperity Yam Ring Basket (Chinese New Year)
Prosperity yam basket is one of the popular Chinese new year dishes. It’s my personal favorite too. I love anything yam, taro, sweet potatoes, potatoes, well..you get the idea! Crispy on the outside and soft meaty taro inside filled with savory meat and/or vegetable stir-fry is really a crowd-pleaser. My kids were fighting for the yam basket, not the filling LOL! Though the filling was good too, but the yam basket is the star of the show here.

The recipe rundown

Taste: I love the natural sweet aroma of yam/taro along with the five-spice powder
Texture: Crispy on the outside and soft inside yam basket pairs with a savory filling and crispy crunchy fried rice stick noodles. I guess you don’t need me to elaborate more 🙂 Lots of textures to please you here!
Level: Intermediate-difficult
Pros: They are not the easiest recipe to make, but they taste so darn good!
Cons: You need lots of oil to fry the yam ring basket

Ingredients for Yam Basket

1. Taro/yam
This can be found at Asian grocery store. The skin is almost like a tree-bark with hint of purple flesh

Taro/yam

This is Taro / Asian Yam

2. Wheat starch
Wheat starch can be difficult to find, but is usually available at Asian grocery stores. They are not the same as regular wheat flour
3. Five-spice powder
Chinese five-spice powder is widely available at Asian grocery stores and I feel like it’s a must in yam basket recipe. The aroma really shines through
4. Shortening
I used no-trans fat shortening
5. Salt
6. Sugar
7. Hot boiling water
It’s important to use hot boiling water to cook the wheat starch before mixing it into the yam to make the dough

Prosperity Yam Ring Basket (Chinese New Year)

How to make the prosperity yam ring basket

1. Peel taro and cut into smaller chunks or thin slices and steam on high heat until you can easily poke them with a fork, about 15 minutes. I pressure cook on high for 3 minutes

3. Get 300 grams and mash the taro while it’s hot with salt, sugar, and five-spice powder

4. Mix wheat starch with hot boiling water (make sure it’s really boiling hot). This will precook the starch. Stir this into the taro mixture followed by shortening.

5. Knead into a dough. The dough will still be somewhat sticky and very soft at this point

6. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and shiny. Cover with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator and let it rest for about 1 hour or overnight if you preparing ahead

7. The dough should be soft and pliable now. Give it a few kneads. Gently shape the dough by making a hole in the middle of the dough and then gently shape into a ring

8. Place these yam rings on a baking tray and put them in the refrigerator to chill them for at least 30 minutes so they won’t fall apart during the frying.

9. Preheat about 3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom wok , skillet, or a pot. You want the yam basket to be able to fully submerged into the oil (yes, it needs lots of oil I know). If you put a skewer in there, you will see bubbles around it. The oil is ready

10. Put the yam ring on top of a large skimmer or something similar. You can also use one of those disposable round aluminum pie plate, cut a hole in the middle to let oil through and put the yam ring on top. This helps prevent the bottom of the yam basket getting burned

11. Gently lower the yam ring into the oil. Ideally you want the whole yam ring to be submerged in the oil, it makes your life easier actually (but I feel like that’s a lot of oil too). If the yam isn’t fully submerged into the oil, use a ladle to spoon the hot oil over the top of the basket all over so they brown evenly on the bottom and top of the basket.

12. Let it fry until golden brown and lift it up with the spatula and put on an absorbent paper towel

11. Let’s fry the rice noodle stick now (the photos below was taken at the different time when I made this). When you dip a chopstick or skewer, if the oil bubbles around it, the oil is ready

12. Carefully put in the dried rice noodles and they will puff up almost immediately

13. Fry until they are crispy and place on an absorbent paper towel

The filling

The filling is really flexible here. Usually people like to fill it with stir fry kung pao chicken or cashew chicken stir-fry. You can also fill it with stir-fry cap chye or really, whatever you want to fill it up with.

Important tips

1. Use hot boiling water to precook the wheat starch. This helps to bind the dough together
2. Remember to chill the dough before shaping and before frying
3. The oil needs to be hot to fry the yam basket and the rice noodles

If you like prosperity yam basket, you will like this woo kok (fried taro puff)

Woo Kok (Fried Taro Puff)

Woo Kok (Fried Taro Puff)

Did you make this prosperity yam ring basket recipe?

I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Prosperity Yam Ring Basket (Chinese New Year)
The recipe for the yam basket was first published in 2021 and has been improved with a recipe adapted from Spice N’ Pans with some modifications. The yam dough is so much easier to work with and won’t fall apart during frying.

Prosperity Yam Ring Basket (Chinese New Year)

Prosperity Yam Ring Basket

Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 35 minutes mins
Chill the dough: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins
Servings 4 servings
Please rate the recipe if you have tried it!
REVIEW & RATE PRINT

Ingredients

  • 300 gr mashed taro
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp five-spice powder
  • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
  • 60 gr wheat starch
  • 90 ml hot boiling water
  • 30 gr shortening
  • cooking oil for deep frying

Filling:

  • 100 gr pork tenderloin cut into thin slices
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 150 gr large shrimp peeled and deveined
  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 1 small carrot thinly sliced
  • 1 stalk celery cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small purple onion cut into small wedges
  • 1 Tbsp shaoxing wine
  • ½ cup chicken broth
  • 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbsp water

Seasoning:

  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

Other filling ideas (choose any one of this or use your own favorite recipe):

  • 1 recipe Kung Pao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding)
  • 1 recipe Cap Chay (Cap Cay)
  • 1 recipe Tumis Ayam Kacang Mede (Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry)

Serve with:

  • Thin rice noodles

Instructions
 

Prepare the yam dough: (can be done the day before)

  • Peel taro and cut into smaller chunks or thin slices and steam on high heat until you can easily poke them with a fork, about 15 minutes. I pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Get 300 grams of taro. Mash the taro while it's hot with salt, sugar, and five-spice powder
  • Mix wheat starch with hot boiling water (make sure it's really boiling hot). This will precook the starch. Stir this into the taro mixture followed by shortening. Knead into a dough. The dough will still be somewhat a bit sticky at this point. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth

Chill the dough:

  • Cover with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator and let it rest for about 1 hour or overnight if you preparing ahead

Shape the dough:

  • The dough should be soft and pliable now. Give it a few kneads. Gently shape the dough by making a hole in the middle of the dough and then gently shape into a ring
  • Gently shape the dough into a long log and then shape into a ring, not too thick not too thin, about 3/4 inch (almst 2 cm) in thickness and about 5 inches in diameter.

Chill the yam rings:

  • Place these yam rings on a baking tray and put in the refrigerator to chill them for at least 30 minutes so they won't fall apart during the frying
  • Preheat about 3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom wok , skillet, or a pot. You want the yam basket to be able to fully submerged into the oil. If you put a skewer in there, you will see bubbles around it. The oil is ready

Fry the yam rings:

  • Put the yam ring on top of a large skimmer or something similar. You can also use one of those disposable round aluminum pie plate, cut a hole in the middle to let oil through and put the yam ring on top. This helps prevent the bottom of the yam basket getting burned
  • Gently lower the yam ring into the oil. Ideally, you want the whole yam ring to be submerged in the oil, it makes your life easier actually (but I feel like that’s a lot of oil too). If the yam isn’t fully submerged into the oil, use a ladle to spoon the hot oil over the top of the basket all over so they brown evenly on the bottom and top of the basket.

Fry the noodles:

  • When you dip a chopstick or skewer into the oil, if the oil bubbles around it, the oil is ready. Carefully put in the dried rice noodles and they will puff up almost immediately. Fry until they are crispy and place on an absorbent paper towel

Prepare the filling:

  • Marinate the pork slices with cornstarch and soy sauce and set aside for about 15 minutes
  • Preheat a large skillet. Add oil. Saute garlic and onion for about 1 minute. Add the pork and saute until they just turn color. Add the shrimp and saute until they barely turn pink. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another minute. Deglaze the skillet by pouring 1 Tbsp of shaoxing wine. Scrape the bottom of the skillet. Add the seasonings and chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference. Mix cornstarch with water to make a slurry. Pour this over and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened

Put everything together:

  • Put the crispy fried noodles on the serving platter. Place the yam ring basket on top. Fill the basket with the filling of your choice and serve immediately

*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*

Nutrition Facts
Prosperity Yam Ring Basket
Serving Size
 
1 serving
Amount per Serving
Calories
384
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
20
g
31
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
19
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
6
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
11
g
Cholesterol
 
16
mg
5
%
Sodium
 
1212
mg
53
%
Potassium
 
859
mg
25
%
Carbohydrates
 
42
g
14
%
Fiber
 
5
g
21
%
Sugar
 
4
g
4
%
Protein
 
9
g
18
%
Vitamin A
 
2195
IU
44
%
Vitamin C
 
10
mg
12
%
Calcium
 
73
mg
7
%
Iron
 
2
mg
11
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Did you make this recipe?Let me know how you like this recipe and consider rating it! Tag me @whattocooktoday I'd love to see your photos/videos on Instagram
previous post
Easy Homemade Mung Bean Flour (Moong Dal Flour)
next post
Macau Mung Bean Almond Cookies

5 comments

Joslynn December 3, 2020 - 8:24 am

Hi Marv, I would like to you if the yam puff recipe can be used to make yam basket? According to your recipes yam puff uses wheat starch and it turns up well with the “spider webs” but yam basket uses all- purpose flour. Will the result still be the same? I am planning to make it tomorrow night.

Reply
Marvellina December 3, 2020 - 3:43 pm

Hi Joslynn, this yam basket recipe is really “old”, meaning I made it really long time ago and I had not revisited to see if need improvement or not, I would recommend using the woo kok recipe instead, I know that one is good because I just made it few days ago 🙂

Reply
Joslynn December 3, 2020 - 6:54 pm

Ok thanks, I will try and let you know the result.

Reply
Joslynn December 4, 2020 - 10:05 pm

Hii, I made 5 yam basket and all of it was amazing with the spider webs texture.

Reply
Marvellina December 6, 2020 - 1:21 pm

Hi Joslynn, yay!! Happy to hear that! Did you use the woo kok recipe for the yam basket ?

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Please feel free to ask questions here or leave your comments and ratings if you have tried the recipe! Your Email address will not be published!




Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hello! I'm Marvellina!

I’m passionate about food—especially bold, comforting Asian flavors—and I love sharing approachable recipes and creative bakes with an Asian twist. So glad you’re here! LEARN MORE...

Our Favorites

  • How To Make Soft and Fluffy Pandan Chiffon Cake (Complete Guide)

  • How to Make Basic Asian Rice Porridge (Congee)

  • Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面) (Chinese Fried Sauce Noodles)

  • Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Sticky Rice Dumplings)

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Youtube

©2025 - What To Cook Today. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy & Disclosure Policy


Back To Top
  • Home
  • ABOUT ME
    • CONTACT
  • SHOP
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • RECIPE INDEX
  • easy recipes
    • Easy Dinner
    • One-pot
    • Instant Pot
  • by course
    • Breakfast
    • Dim Sum
    • Main Course
    • Soups/Stews
    • Salad
    • Sides
    • Condiments
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
  • ingredients
    • Rice & Grains
    • Noodles
    • Eggs
    • Tofu & Tempeh
    • Poultry
    • Red Meats
    • Pork
    • Seafood
  • sourdough
    • Sourdough Bread Recipes
    • Recipes Using Sourdough Discard
  • bread & buns
    • Steamed Buns
    • Bread with Yeast
    • No-Knead Bread
    • Quick Bread
  • cakes/cookies/pastries
    • Cakes
    • Pastries
    • Chiffon Cakes
    • Sponge Cakes
    • Cookies
    • No-Bake Dessert
    • Kue/Kueh
  • dietary
    • Gluten-free
    • Vegan
    • VEGETARIAN
    • CONFINEMENT
  • celebrate
    • Chinese New Year
    • Easter
    • Hari Raya
    • Dragon Boat Festival
    • Mooncake Festival
    • Thanksgiving
    • Winter Solstice
    • Christmas Baking
    • Christmas Cooking

Let me know how you like the recipe and consider rating it!

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required