Quick Answer: What Is Taro?
Yu Tou (芋头, yù tou), or taro, is the edible underground corm of Colocasia esculenta. Often called taro root, it is botanically a swollen stem base, with a starchy, mildly sweet and nutty character when cooked.[1]
- Large taro: Starchy, suitable for savory cakes.[2][3]
- Small taro: Softer and stickier.[2]
- Uses: Taro works in savory cakes, meat dishes and coconut-based desserts, not just purple drinks.[3][4][5]
- Handling: Buy edible culinary taro, protect your hands when peeling, and cook it thoroughly.[3][6]
This is a guide to purchased edible corms, not identifying taro-like wild or ornamental plants.[7]
The useful starting point is the dish: a tender steamed small taro and a sliceable savory taro cake call for different textures. Matching the ingredient to that goal helps more than choosing by purple color.
Large and Small Taro in the Kitchen
Two common market groups are useful to recognize, although they do not represent every cultivar.
| Market group | Significado | Cooking character |
|---|---|---|
| Large taro, often called dasheen | A type producing a substantial main corm | Generally starchier, with a nutty, buttery flavor; used for taro cake and meat preparations.[1][2] |
| Small taro, often called eddoe | A type producing numerous smaller corms | Usually moister and less starchy, with a soft, slightly slippery cooked texture.[1][2] |
Small taro is not simply a convenient portion of the large kind. If a recipe specifies one type, follow that choice rather than replacing it solely by equal weight.
Four Chinese Ways to Cook Taro
- Simple steaming: Steam small taro and serve with soy sauce for a simple preparation.[2]
- Savory taro cake: Yu Tou Gao (芋头糕, yù tou gāo) combines taro and rice flour, often with Chinese sausage and dried shrimp. It is steamed, cooled, sliced and commonly pan-fried. Learn how such savory small plates fit into dim sum.[3]
- Pork belly with taro: A Hakka preparation associated with Guangdong alternates slices of large taro and pork belly in a seasoned bowl. Steaming brings them together before the dish is inverted for serving. It can be a centerpiece for Año Nuevo chino.[4]
- Coconut and tapioca dessert: Diced taro joins coconut milk, tapioca pearls and rock sugar in a sweet soup. Cook the pearls according to their method separately from judging whether the taro has softened.[5]
The contrast between savory cake and sweet soup is part of taro’s versatility. Explore Cantonese cuisine for the wider setting of its savory tea-house cooking, rather than assuming every taro dish is dessert.
Preparing Taro Before Cooking
For a purchased large corm, prepare the pieces before following the dish’s full recipe.
- Protect and peel: Food-safe gloves help prevent skin irritation when peeling and cutting raw taro. Remove the rough outer skin.[3]
- Rinse and portion: Rinse peeled taro and cut into the cubes, slices or chunks required by the recipe.[2]
- Cook thoroughly: Steam, boil, bake or use the recipe’s cooking method. Raw taro is unsuitable for eating; a quick rinse or taste test is not a substitute for cooking.[6]
Wild taro is a separate problem: ordinary soaking or cooking cannot reliably make its much higher calcium-oxalate load safe. Buy from reliable food suppliers rather than collecting a similar-looking plant.[7]
Buying and Storing Taro
Choose firm taro without soft or moldy spots. Buy near cooking day and keep whole corms in a cool, dark place for only a few days.[2]
FAQs About Taro in Chinese Cooking
Is taro the same as ube or purple sweet potato?
No. Taro is Colocasia esculenta; ube is the purple yam Dioscorea alata, while sweet potato is Ipomoea batatas. Similar dessert colors do not make them the same ingredient.[1][8][9]
Can I eat taro raw?
No. Edible taro corms require cooking. This does not mean cooking can turn an unidentified wild plant into safe taro.[6][7]
Can I use small taro for taro cake?
Use the type the recipe specifies. A savory cake made for large taro relies on that ingredient’s starchy texture; small taro is not an automatic equivalent.[3]
Why is my taro not bright purple?
Common taro has pale flesh with pink or purple flecks; vivid purple drinks differ.[2]
Fuentes
[1] University of California Cooperative Extension. Guide to Asian Specialty Vegetables, page 8
[2] The Woks of Life. What Is Taro?
[3] Made With Lau. Taro Cake
[4] The Woks of Life. Steamed Pork Belly with Taro
[5] Christine’s Recipes. Taro and Tapioca Pearl Dessert
[6] University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Pacific Food Guide: Taro
[7] Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety. Beware of Wild Taro and Cook Edible Taro Properly
[8] Singapore NParks. Dioscorea alata
[9] Singapore Botanic Gardens, NParks. Ornamental Underground Edibles, Gardenwise 55