Sweet Potato Manju Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do they eat sweet potatoes in Japan? ›

There, Japanese sweet potatoes are often roasted whole and enjoyed as a standalone street snack, particularly when the crop is in season in fall and winter. They're also mashed or pureed and served with candied chestnuts in kuri kinton, a traditional New Year's dish.

KOREAN CAKE: OISHI MANJU

A small pancake-like bread stuffed with rich custard or mocha fillings. It is baked in an automatic oven. It is best served hot. It has been one of my favorites affordable yummy sweet treats that can easily be bought in most of the stall in the mall.

TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: The main secrets to achieving that incredible crispy texture, is to soak the cut sweet potatoes in cold water for at least 30 minutes. This helps remove the starch from the sweet potatoes so they´re not limp & soggy.

These qualities make Japanese sweet potatoes a versatile ingredient for many different recipes. In Japan, they are often used to make Yakiimo (Japanese baked potato), Daigaku imo (candied sweet potato) and even as a starch to make alcohol.

Whereas the American sweet potato is slightly stringy, the Japanese sweet potato's fluffiness comes from its higher starch content. This results in a lighter potato, texturally similar to a russet, with a mild flavor that isn't as sweet as the American variety.

Are Japanese sweet potatoes healthier than regular sweet potatoes? All varieties of sweet potatoes are good for you but these purple-skin tubers do have higher concentrations of specific vitamins and nutrients.

Manju is a traditional Japanese flour-based pastry (instead of rice-based like mochi).

How is Mochi and Manju Made? Manju is made from wheat flour and mochi is made from rice flour. Unlike dango, they also have fillings. Nisshodo Candy Store offers traditional mochi and manju such as azuki bean, to modern, like peanut butter.

Its name is manju (mahn-ju), and it's been popular throughout Hawai`i for generations. Usually this circular-shaped confection falls more on the savory side of the flavor scale, but it's so wonderfully diverse that it can slide back to the sweet side, depending on the ingredient at the center.

Boiling sweet potatoes retains more beta-carotene and makes the nutrient more absorbable than other cooking methods such as baking or frying. Up to 92% of the nutrient can be retained by limiting the cook time, such as boiling in a pot with a tightly covered lid for 20 minutes.

Do sweet potatoes taste better baked or boiled? ›

Even if you are making mashed sweet potatoes, they will taste better with oven-cooked potatoes. To bake sweet potatoes in the oven, preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the potatoes clean and pierce each one all over with a paring knife. Bake on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet until tender, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Sweet potatoes have a higher sugar/starch content than regular potatoes, which causes the outside of the potato to brown or burn much more quickly, preventing the French fry from obtaining as crispy of a shell.

In Korean, they are called “bam goguma” and “mul goguma.” These two types are the same Japanese sweet potato, but their appearance and texture are slightly different depending on their growing conditions.

"The greenish colour can be due to a natural occurrence, when the water soluble pigments in the cooked sweet potatoes are exposed to air," AVA said. "If the cooked sweet potatoes are handled and stored properly, they should not pose a food safety concern."

Since its introduction to the East, sweet potato has earned a special place in Asian cuisines. In China, they're baked in large iron drums and enjoyed as a winter street food; or made into Mantou buns; while in North-eastern parts, they're often cut in chunks and fried, served with hot syrup.

Over time, the Okinawan sweet potato became an important part of the Okinawan diet and culture. It was used in traditional Okinawan imo-ryori, cuisine that focuses on the use of sweet potatoes in various preparations, such as tempura, soup, and even ice cream.

Typically in Japan, we enjoy yaki imo as it is. It makes a hearty yet healthy snack, but you can still serve it as a side as a part of a meal. We eat the skin of Japanese sweet potatoes. That's why it's important to scrub and wash the sweet potatoes well before you bake them.

Ibaraki Prefecture is the largest producer of dried sweet potatoes due to the chilly winds blowing through, traditionally used as a critical step in drying the sweet potato. While the dried sweet potato can be eaten raw, it can also be toasted to help bring out the nutty aroma and provide a sweeter and softer texture.