Sweet Potato Kinpira

Kinpira is one of the first foods I remember eating as a child, cooked by my great-grandmother, who usually made hers from burdock and carrots. It is a staple in Japanese home cooking, and is my go-to quick and easy root vegetable side dish. The hardest part is cutting up the vegetable into thin sticks or strips, but this allows it to cook quickly, and with practice or helpful equipment, it becomes less of a chore. Plus, the result is more than worth the effort: caramelized, tender, noodle-y strips that are equal parts sweet and savory. The flavor and texture is reminiscent of yakisoba noodles, and can accompany that or most other Japanese dishes. It can be made with any sturdy root vegetable, but this version is made with sweet potatoes, since they were in my CSA last week!

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sake

1 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

grapeseed or canola oil

salt

sesame seeds

chili oil or dried chile flakes

1. To prepare the sauce, combine and mix the soy sauce, sugar, sake, vinegar, and sesame oil until the sugar has dissolved. Next, peel and cut your sweet potato into thin strips. This can be done well with a knife, but I often use a mandolin with the julienne attachment for efficiency. The mandolin is one of my favorite kitchen tools, but can be dangerous if used improperly, so do what is best for you! You can also use a vegetable peeler to produce long strips of sweet potato, though this will affect the cooking process slightly.

2. Saute the sweet potato in a large pan with a little oil and salt over medium heat, stirring often to prevent sticking and promote even cooking. Once they begin to soften, remove the pan from the heat, carefully add in the sauce, and stir constantly until the sauce reduces and coats the sweet potato. Be careful not to leave it in the pan too long after this, or the sugar will burn. The texture should be soft enough to easily bite through, but not so soft that it breaks apart when handled.

3. To serve, make a neat pile, and top with sesame seeds and a drizzle of chili oil or dried chiles.

Alex Dakers
Chef/Owner, Yabai Nikkei LLC