Daigaku Imo

 Daigaku Imo literally means “college potato.” The name comes from the fact that the dish was sold and popular among people in college areas in Tokyo in the early 1900s. Ever since, Daigaku Imo has been, although a simple and old-fashioned taste, one of the all-time favorite sweets loved by Japanese people.

Ae-Yun gave me a bag of Japanese sweet potatoes called Satsumai.  They have purple-ish or reddish color skin, inside the sweet potatoes are creamy white flesh that turns yellow after cooking. They come in small to medium size and are generally rounder with tapered ends.

Ingredients:

3 or 4 Japanese Sweet Potatoes

6 teaspoons brown sugar

3 teaspoons soy sauce

6 teaspoons Mirin ( sweet cooking rice wine)

Pinch of salt

Sprinkle of sesame seeds 

Directions:

 Wash and rinse potatoes 

Chop into chunks

Soak potato chunks in water for 5 minutes

Place chunks in a microwave dish and cover with plastic wrap

Microwave 5 minutes- the sweet potatoes will turn yellow ( they are originally white)

Remove moisture from the chunks

Fry chunks in oil for about 5 minutes till crispy- set aside ( my came out a little to crispy 😢 I don't fry that often)

Add sugar, soy sauce, mirin and salt to a pan and heat the mixture over medium heat then add the sweet potatoes.

Add potatoes to a medium size bowl and pour liquid over them.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired . 

Myra- I know you won't be able to get these sweet potatoes but I know how much you like the sauce. I bet you could use this recipe with red potatoes.