Honey-Glazed Sweet Potatoes (Daigaku Imo)

You know, frying things in oil terrifies me, which I suppose is why I've never done it before. I mean, I only know one person who actually set themselves on fire while doing it, but still. Terrifying. Anyway, I fried sweet potato for this recipe and nothing caught fire! Phew. At first I was afraid that they were burnt (overcooking is kind of my forte), but they were great: crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. They reminded me a bit of candy. This recipe is adapted from one I found on the blog No Recipes, except that I don't actually have Japanese sweet potatoes (satsumaimo). It turned out really well: I'd make this again for sure!

Ingredients:

1/2 sweet potato, peeled

vegetable oil (I'd guess between 1/4 and 1/3 cup, but I just poured it in there)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon liquid honey (I used wildflower)

you'll also need:

small non-stick frying pan

tongs

4 paper towels

small bowl for tossing the potatoes in

1. heat the pan over medium heat, and toast the sesame seeds until they're starting to turn brown. Remove the pan from the heat and set the seeds aside. Let the pan cool before you put anything else in it.

2. while the pan is cooling, cut the sweet potato into chunks about 1 inch thick -- though the important thing is to get them all about the same size. Put the honey in the tossing bowl, and set aside.

3. once the pan is cool, arrange the sweet potato pieces in it in a single layer. Pour the vegetable oil over them until they are partially, but not completely, submerged. You will be shallow-frying them. Drizzle the sesame oil over them, then turn the heat the medium.

4. cook the potatoes until they are brown on the bottom, then turn them over with the tongs. Continue cooking them until they are brown on the second side and have formed a nice shell. They should be fairly dark in color.

5. when they're done, remove them from the heat. Quickly place them, with the tongs, on two doubled-up sheets of paper towel, and pat them with the other two sheets, to blot off any excess oil. Discard the rest of the oil.

6. put the potatoes in the bowl with the honey and toss until they're completely coated: the heat from the potatoes will help with their caramelizing. Sprinkle them with the sesame seeds, and toss again, always being careful not to break the potatoes.

7. serve them in a bowl and eat them while they're warm.

I adapted (slightly) this recipe from the one on the blog No Recipes. You should check it out!