Sweet potatoes are an iconic Japanese treat, but they¡¯re not native to Japan.
Originally from Central America, these tubers came through China in the 17th century to the Satsuma domain in southern Kyushu. Some say a fisherman named Riemon Maeda brought the first sweet potatoes to Satsuma after a trip to the Ryukyu Kingdom (present-day Okinawa), which explains why today¡¯s Kagoshima Prefecture is to this humble act.
Over time, sweet potatoes became a valued crop in the Satsuma domain, where conditions favored them over rice. During nationwide famines, Satsuma¡¯s nutrient-dense sweet potato crop spared its people the worst of the suffering. So helpful was this foreign crop that in 1735, the eighth Tokugawa shogun ordered a court scholar to look into growing the food ¡ª now known as ¡°satsumaimo¡± (literally, ¡°Satsuma potato¡°) ¡ª across Japan.
Today, there are several varieties of ever sweeter satsumaimo, which has given rise to a cottage industry of related treats: satsumaimo ice cream, satsumaimo candies and ishiyakiimo (stone-baked sweet potato) sold from bicycle- or kei truck-drawn carts.
This recipe is for yet another satsumaimo snack: daigaku imo, which means ¡°university sweet potatoes.¡± One theory is that they were first sold at a store in the 1920s in the Kanda area of Tokyo, near the famous Red Gate of Tokyo University (then Tokyo Imperial University). They became popular as a cheap, filling snack among students.
I use a mix of white and sweet potatoes, but both are deep-fried and coated with a sweet and salty syrup that hardens when cooled.
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 large regular and 2 large purple sweet potatoes
- 200 grams ²õ²¹²Ô´Ç²Ô³Ù¨ (light brown sugar)
- 3 tablespoons mirin
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ? teaspoon salt
- 100 milliliters water
- 3 tablespoons roasted black sesame seeds
- Oil for deep frying
Directions:
1. Wash but don¡¯t peel the sweet potatoes, then cut them into bite-size chunks. Try to leave a bit of the skin on each piece.
2. Preheat the oil to 180 degrees Celsius. Deep-fry the potatoes in batches for eight to 10 minutes each until they¡¯re cooked through. Drain well.
3. Combine the ²õ²¹²Ô´Ç²Ô³Ù¨, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and water in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the sauce is reduced to about half or less of its volume. It should also become thicker and syrupy.
4. Add the deep-fried potatoes to the sauce and toss well to coat each piece. Add the sesame seeds and toss again. Serve hot or cold, but don¡¯t let them sit too long. Try to finish them the same or next day for freshness.
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