Zoe and I have this obsession for sweet potatoes. Its kind of an odd thing to be addicted to actually. If I could I would eat sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch and even for dinner.
I remember on my first day for my religion class. The professor wanted us to introduce ourselves to people beside us. He asked us to talk about our favorite breakfast food.
I asked the girl sitting next to me what her favorite food for breakfast was. She said “Waffles”.
Then she asked me.
“Sweet Potatoes”
The expression that was one her face was one full of surprise, shock and just pure confusion.
I guess sweet potatoes really isn’t a common answer.
So let me do a little convincing. Why is sweet potatoes so good? Because back in Asia, in Hong Kong, we can get a variety of sweet potatoes – purple, orange, yellow that all differ in levels of sweetness. It depends on the time of year, season and where its from. Japanese sweet potatoes are the best! You should’ve seen the horrified look on our faces when we first moved to Utah and realized that all they sold here was orange sweet potatoes that tasted – well to be honest – kind of bland. The sweet potatoes we grew up eating was so sweet and flavorful! You don’t need to add marshmallows, brown sugar or anything on it We just steam it and it tastes absolutely incredible. (Frankly we were shocked and surprised to discover that people here smother their sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows).
After a persistently searchingaround, I simply couldn’t contain my excitement when I discovered that our local Asian market just round the corner actually sells yellow Japanese sweet potatoes. Please..if you haven’t tried one, you’re missing out! And if you ever can get hold of a purple sweet potato definitely try it!
My love – more like obsession – for this root vegetable began as a young girl when I discovered “Sweet Potato Sweet Soup”. This is our favorite way to eat sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are cut up and cooked in a sweet, gingery soup (traditional Chinese dessert). I love it when we add in all sorts of colors of sweet potatoes because it makes the dessert even more beautiful. For someone who suffers from food allergies and digestive problems, this warm gingery dessert is like a “sweet, delicious” medicine and healing balm for my upset stomach. (I probably shouldn’t even mention how many of these bowls I could down).
It was always a good day at home when we had sweet potato ginger soup – its like christmas! We really like our sweet potatoes. And you will find no happier people than the two of us – enjoying a delicious sweet potato.
Tonight was no exception. This is our little Asian twist on the traditional sweet potato fries. We had a jar of Sichuan pepper at the back of our cupboard that I had forgotten about so we decided to add it in. Sichuan pepper actually adds a fruity touch to it. Sprinkling on some curry powder brings the fries to the next level – making it more sophisticated. The fries is dipped in a deliciously cold/sweet/spicy/mango sauce, which reminds me of Indian flavors – mango and curry.
The sauce is to die for! Its like mango smoothie in a jar! With an added bonus – there is no oil 🙂 The sauce makes quite a lot so you can serve the rest with tortilla chips!
- 3 large Japanese Sweet Potatoes
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp curry powder
- ½ tsp Sichuan Pepper
- cornstarch (optional : but it will make the fries crispier!)
- Sauce:
- 1 large, ripe mango
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sambal oelek/gochujang/sriracha/chili paste/chili flakes
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and slice them into thin wedges. Toss with dry spices.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Arrange sweet potato wedges.
- Bake the sweet potatoes for 20 minutes. Turn the oven to broil for 3-5 minutes to char the potato fries (optional). Take out and cool slightly.
- Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Blend till smooth. Put the sauce in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
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