Although Japanese cuisine has become pretty popular around the world, there are still so many amazing Japanese foods people are missing out on.
One of them is Satsuma-Imo, or Japanese sweet potato.
Yes, it’s a personal opinion, but a lot of people who did try it, including my husband, as well as many Japanese people who live abroad would agree with me.
In the U.S., they may be sold as “Oriental Sweet Potato”, “Asian Sweet Potato”, “Japanese Sweet Potato”, or “Satsuma Potato”.
They have unmistakably dark maroon colored skin (inside is white).
The ones (above) I picked up are a bit chubby, but usually the shape is just like regular sweet potatoes.
How do you cook it?
Well, the best way is roasting it.
When roasted, it brings intense sweetness.
During the roasting process, I noticed that syrup-like liquid was woozing out of the potatoes, which really shows how sweet these potatoes can be.
I love the taste, but the texture is also wonderful.
It’s soft and moist, but not too moist and it keeps the texture satisfying and pleasant.
You can add it to your dinner plate, but it also makes a great snack as it is.
The potato is just so delicious as it is that I typically do not add anything.
No salt, not syrup (please DON’T), no sauce, but the only thing I may do is putting a little piece of butter, which is a whole another story and will probably deserve its own post about it (lol)!
Other ways I enjoy Satsuma Potatoes include tempura and miso soup.
So yesterday we checked out a cactus shop that recently opened in Minneapolis.
This (above) was one of the cacti I really liked, but I came home with…
This one!
It was love at first sight for me.
Isn’t she just lovely?