Name: Candied Sweet Potato
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: 1/4 cup granulated or packed light brown sugar; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon soy sauce; 1 teaspoon rice vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 2 large Japanese-style sweet potatoes, about 1 pound total weight, unpeeled, cut ran-giri style into chunks; 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds, freshly dry-roasted

Image may contain Plant Food Meal Dish Seasoning and Sesame

Daigaku Imo

Hanamaru Market, a highly successful, long-running Japanese television talk show, opens with a short cooking segment every weekday morning. Finding ways to make impressive classic cuisine simpler and less technically demanding is the theme of many of the episodes. In the autumn of 2008, one of the broadcasts featured an innovative recipe for daigaku imo (candied sweet potatoes) that topped all previous viewer-rating charts. Indeed, as of this writing, nearly a year later, it remains the all-time favorite.

Syrup-glazed, black sesame-studded sweet potato first became a popular snack among university students at the turn of the twentieth century. Indeed, that is the origin of the name of the dish: daigaku means "university" and imo is "potato." Most recipes for daigaku imo instruct the cook to deep-fry sweet potato chunks first and glaze them afterward. Although delicious, the classic version results in a high-calorie snack that is messy both to make and to clean up. In contrast, the Hanamaru Market version offers a (relatively) healthy snack.

Recipe notes

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