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Yaki imo
焼き芋 (yaki imo): whole Japanese sweet potatoes slow-roasted until sticky and caramel-sweet
Yaki imo is the winter street snack of Japan: from November the yaki-imo trucks crawl through Tokyo and Osaka neighbourhoods singing 'ishi-yaki imo' through a loudspeaker, selling Japanese sweet potatoes roasted slowly on hot stones. At home the oven does the job. Long, low heat turns the starch into natural sugars, so the flesh becomes golden, fudgy and almost syrupy, and nothing at all needs adding: no butter, no sugar, no salt. About 0.1 g salt per portion, all of it naturally in the potato. Eat them hot from paper as an afternoon snack or alongside miso soup. The usual mistake is roasting too hot and fast, which cooks the potato but never sweetens it. Chef's tip: the potato is ready when sticky syrup bubbles out of the skin and the whole thing slumps when squeezed with an oven glove.
- Total time
- 95 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 Japanese sweet potatoes (satsuma-imo)about 250 g each, or any slim sweet potatoes
- 2 tbsp water
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 325°F (275°F fan). Scrub the 4 Japanese sweet potatoes (satsuma-imo) well but leave them unpeeled.
5 minStep 2: Wet each potato with a little 2 tbsp water and wrap it loosely in foil, or lay them on a tray lined with baking paper.
2 minStep 3: Roast for 60 minutes, then turn them over.
60 minStep 4: Roast for another 20–30 minutes, until sticky juice oozes from the ends and the potatoes feel completely soft. Unwrap for the last 10 minutes to firm up the skin.
30 minStep 5: Rest for 5 minutes, then break in half and eat the flesh straight from the skin.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 51 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does yaki imo take?
- About 95 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of japanese sweet potatoes (satsuma-imo)?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
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