Oven-roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes have been such a favorite root vegetable in Asian countries that we often use them in all kinds of sautés, soups, congees, desserts, and even drinks!  Yes, that is right, in drinks.  Sweet potato puree is a popular topping for milk teas.   Next time when you are in an Asian teashop, try it.  It is way better than you can imagine.

When winter comes, fire oven roasted sweet would be a seasonal hit.  They are hot and sweet, covered with caramelized skins.  So tasty! O(∩_∩)O~

Fire oven roasted sweet potatoes are very hard to find in America.  So I bake them in small toaster oven. 

The best ones for toaster oven I can find are Japanese sweet potatoes and purple sweet potatoes with red skins.  The Japanese sweet potatoes are sold in most Asian grocery stores.  But the purple sweet potatoes are not that common.  If you are in Houston area like me, try Sprouts, Central Market and Wholefoods market.  

I posted Dried Purple Sweet Potates before: https://www.yankitchen.com/english-blog/2018/2/27/dried-purple-sweet-potatoes

Rinse both sweet potatoes under running water.  Pat dry with kitchen paper towel.

Preheat the toaster oven to 450F/ 232C  

Add sweet potatoes to the oven.

Bake for about 90 minutes.  The baking time may vary depending on the toaster ovens and the sizes of sweet potatoes.

There is sweet and warming aroma in the house when sweet potatoes are being baked.

Purple sweet potatoes are a little bit drier than Japanese sweet potatoes.  But they are both quite sweet and tasty.

Taro and Sweet Potato Tapioca Balls on Shaved Ice

中文菜谱：

芋圆薏米红豆刨冰

Shaved ice has been popular among Asian people for many years.  In early time, ice was just simply finely crushed by machine.  Nowadays, if you stop by China town, you will be amazed by how thin and creamy the shaved ice is.  And as for the toppings, wow, they are almost endless! O(∩_∩)O~   The most popular ones are but not limited to taro tapioca balls, sweet potato tapioca balls, red beans, lotus seeds, pearl barleys, strawberry, blueberry, mango, and mochi.  

I do my own shaved ice when I don’t want to drive all the way to China town but still crave for it.  It is easy.  And I always make a large batch and freeze the extra taro and sweet potato tapioca balls for later use. 

I make taro and sweet potato tapioca balls, red beans, and pearl barley. 

Ingredients：

Taro puree
yellow sweet potato puree
white sweet potato puree
purple sweet potato puree
tapioca starch
red beans
dark brown cane sugar
pearl barley
honey
water
1 to 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

 

Directions：

I steam 3 kinds of sweet potatoes and taro.  Peel and finely smash them into puree.  Add a little bit water if needed.

Add tapioca starch when the puree is still hot to touch.  Knead separately in different bowls.

Transfer dough balls to a slightly dusted large wooden board. Divide each dough ball into smaller pieces. 

Roll out each dough piece into thin and long strands, about 1/3 inch in diameter.

With a dough scraper, cut each stands into 1/3 inch pieces.

Add pearl barleys and water to a small pot.  Cook over medium heat until barleys are soft.  Remove from heat, and stir in 2 tablespoons honey.

Add red beans and water to another small pot.  Cook over medium heat until red beans are soft and tender.  Remove from heat and stir in dark brown cane sugar.

Cook taro and sweet potato tapioca balls in boiling water until they float to the surface. 

Rinse the tapioca balls quickly to get rid of excessive starch on the outside so that they won’t stick together.

Now it is time to shave some ice!

I have this snow cone machine for almost 6 years, still up and running O(∩_∩)O~

Add ice

Turn on the machine

It is done.  The machine does a pretty good job.

Scoope shaved ice into a cup

Add cooked taro and sweet potato tapioca balls.

Add cooked pearl barley, red beans and then drizzle with condensed milk.

Use a spoon to mix everything and have a big bite! O(∩_∩)O~

Taro and sweet potato tapioca balls are slightly chewy and springy, which makes them so good.  Pearl barleys and red beans have different texture and taste.  When everything is mixed together, it is just such a great treat!

Who doesn’t want a cup of this icy sweet treat during a hot summer day?

There is one thing to keep in mind.  Tapioca balls will get hard after they are mixed with ice.  So don’t let it sit too long before you enjoy once it is ready to eat.

Freeze the extra taro and sweet potato tapioca balls.  Store in an air-tight Ziploc bag and they should be good for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Dried Purple Sweet Potatoes

中文菜谱：

紫薯干

Dried purple sweet potatoes are one of my favorite snacks.  Unfortunately it is very hard to find tasty ones available in store.  I usually make them from scratch at home.  It is so simple and easy that even a person who doesn’t cook can manage it in no time.  O(∩_∩)O~

After drying, the natural sweetness in sweet potatoes is concentrated and enlightened.  Dried sweet potatoes become soft but chewy in a very pleasant way.  It is kind of like eating gummy candies, but with intense sweet potatoes flavors.

There are several kinds of purple sweet potatoes available in the market.  I have two varieties here plus some regular yellow color ones.

Rinse them well under running water. 

Set up a vegetable steamer in a large stainless steel pan.  Add sweet potatoes to the steamer. 

Add water.  Heat over high heat until the water boils.  Reduce the heat to medium and continue to steam for another 30 to 40 minutes.  Time needed depends on the size of sweet potatoes.  Larger ones will take longer to cook through.

This is one of my favorite purple sweet potatoes.  Look at that gorgeous the color inside and out!

Here is another kind purple sweet potato

Peel all the sweet potatoes.  Cut them into long trips, and place them half inch apart from each other on dehydrator racks.

Set the dehydrator to 135F/ 57C

Dehydrate them in dehydrator for 8 to 9 hours.  Again, the actual time needed depends on the size of sweet potatoes and personal preference for their softness/ chewiness. 

Remove sweet potato strips from dehydrator.  Store them in a large Ziploc bag overnight or for at least a couple hours, which helps to redistribute moisture within sweet potatoes strips and they would taste much better.  

These are my favorite.  They are sweet, gorgeous and have the best combination of softness and chewiness. 

These purple sweet potatoes which come with white skins taste a bit dry and starchy.  They are good, but not great.

The yellow ones taste very much like the ones from my childhood.  Love them too.