For Better Sweet Potato Fries, Try Making Them The Japanese Way

Fries for dessert? Why not? If you make them the Japanese way, you're in for some truly delicious sweet potato fries, with a special emphasis on the "sweet" part. Buttery and nutty Japanese sweet potatoes are one of many types of potatoes that are popular in culinary spaces. However, unlike conventional American sweet potatoes, Japanese sweet potatoes are fluffier in texture, and they typically have a cream-colored flesh. There are notable differences in the flavor department as well, with Japanese sweet potatoes often described as being sweeter and more chestnut-like than their American cousins. While the most popular way of preparing these tasty tubers is by baking them, it is worth preparing sweet potatoes with different cooking methods beyond baking, such as turning them into crispy fries.

The iconic recipe for Japanese sweet potato fries is unlike the American ones that people might be more familiar with. Traditionally known as "Imo-kenpi," this candied Japanese treat features sweet potatoes cut into matchstick-sized strips. It's a popular snack across Japan, commonly sold in convenience stores and by street vendors. You can easily make them at home by rinsing or soaking the julienned strips in water to remove excess starch, patting them dry (and preferably drying them out on paper towels for about an hour), and frying them in vegetable oil for about 10 to 20 minutes until the edges crisp up.

While they cool, melt three parts sugar with two parts water, boiling until caramelized (and add salt, cinnamon, and any other flavor enhancer you'd like). Toss the sticks in the mixture and cook while constantly mixing until they're all coated in the sweet caramel that will then crystallize into a solid sugar coating. All that's left is to serve (with powdered sugar, if you'd like) and enjoy!

The hard sugar coating is one of the hallmark features that make Japanese sweet potato fries, or imo-kenpi, stand out from the usual Western fries. Rather than a crispy exterior balanced by a soft interior, imo-kenpi tends to be harder and crunchier. If you want to avoid the oil that comes with deep frying the slices of sweet potato, you can play around with air-frying them, which is not traditional, but can significantly reduce the quantity of oil being used.

Additionally, there are other versions of Japanese sweet potato snacks that don't necessarily need to be deep-fried and are still worth trying. For example, "daigaku imo" is a classic candied sweet potato dish that is still nice and crispy on the outside, and soft and succulent on the inside. While deep-frying is the common route for best results, you can also shallow fry or steam the sweet potato wedges and still achieve tasty results. Just like with imo-kenpi, the potato wedges are cooked in a sweet sugar syrup for the final, candied effect. Some recipes also suggest roasting the sweet potatoes instead, or cutting them as thin slices rather than julienned strips.

This goes to show that there is more than one way to transform the humble sweet potato into a delicious, dessert-worthy snack. So, the next time you're whipping up a dish that uses sweet potatoes, consider trying something new by switching things up with Japanese sweet potatoes instead. You may have just found a new favorite way of eating sweet potatoes thanks to a simple Japanese twist.