Autumn Eats: Sweet Potatoes

One of the iconic foods that I always associate with autumn in Japan is sweet potato. Since the days of me watching anime and reading manga, I have always remembered how in Japan, there are trucks that would drive around town selling roasted sweet potatoes while playing a song that goes like, "Ya-ki-i-mo~ oishii yo~".

Not only are yakiimo a healthy and natural snack but they are also usually served hot as well, perfect to deal with the temperature as things get cooler and cooler. I also remember how most comedy manga would have a scene of farts due to eating too much sweet potatoes!

When autumn comes I buy a good amount of sweet potatoes, and there are three types I enjoy getting:

1. Supermarket yakiimo

I live in an apartment and I would not be able to roast my own yakiimo even if I wanted to. Luckily, most supermarkets in Japan have yakiimo roasters in the store. They roast the sweet potatoes, keep them in a paper bag and keep them warm by placing them over some hot stones and under some heating lights.

If you want it super fresh, some supermarkets even have signs telling you exactly when the next fresh batch will be ready, if you plan to stick around until then.

One sweet potato will usually cost you around 200 to 300 yen, which is not that cheap, but they are hot and ready. If you are on the road and getting hungry, this is definitely a hearty autumn snack to grab on your way out of a supermarket.

2. Supermarket's bulk-sale yakiimo

Alright, so you want roasted sweet potatoes but would prefer to enjoy them at a lower cost, a few supermarkets do have small baskets of the smaller sweet potatoes roasted and sold as a bulk.

The sweet potatoes are roasted in the same way so they are just as delicious. If your timing is right, you can even get them hot and fresh. They are just cheaper because their sizes are not big enough to be sold as a single item. I believe they might also be a different type of sweet potato, but I have yet to master sweet potatoes enough to understand.

One basket in the picture above is 300 yen and it usually carries 7 to 8 small potatoes. The sign also reminds you that you can freeze them, and a toaster oven will be perfect for reheating them when you want to eat them again (please use foil though).

3. Uncooked sweet potatoes

Lastly, the uncooked sweet potatoes are the cheapest. The bag shown in the picture below was only 138 yen. Sure, they are not big, but they are dense and filling enough to satisfy me.

Rather than roasting them, I cut them into rings and steam them in my steamer. This is the easiest way to cook them at home without losing any of the flavours, and they are also easy to store afterwards if you want to freeze the extras.

I would recommend this for a handy snack for yourself or your kids.

While it is the season of sweet potatoes, enjoy this sweet and warming treat!  (Just remember that you have been warned about the gassiness, if that really is true.)