Sweet Potato, Yaki Imo, Love

Honestly, if I gave them a thought at all, I thought about sweet potatoes maybe once a year. And even then, only in the context of a single meal. When I was a little girl, there was nothing I looked forward to more at Thanksgiving dinner than my grandmother’s sweet potato soufflé. (Her mac’n’cheese being a very close second.) When she finally shared the recipe with me one afternoon when I was a teenager, the first thing we did was go to the grocery store. There she taught me to select a good sweet potato, guiding me toward tubers that were smooth and free of knots and eyes. Granted the other ingredients, which include sugar - and I mean a LOT of sugar - and sweetened condensed milk, ensured that if nothing else, the dessert would be sweet, but without a good sweet potato? What are we even doing?

We gathered what we needed and headed back to her home where she patiently taught me how to make my favorite dish. I followed her instructions and wrote everything down. We talked and worked and enjoyed each other’s company. I wish I’d had a smartphone back then so I could have a record of that afternoon visit. If only to hear her call me by my nickname once again, all the better to remember what it feels like to be enveloped in one of her hugs. 

It would be years before I tried to make the soufflé on my own. Right off the bat I nixed the marshmallow topping, poured the soufflé into a pie shell and made it a sweet potato pie proper. For a time, I used ready-made graham cracker crusts from the supermarket, each one pulled from the shelf smooshed between a clear plastic shell and an aluminum foil tin. Even then a part of me knew that this particular choice was nothing short of an abomination but despite that misstep, the pie was delicious because my grandmother’s recipe is just that good. I have since learned the error of my ways and can make a buttery flaky pie crust from scratch and if I do say so myself, I make a mean sweet potato pie. (Total side note but I am completely mystified by pumpkin pie. Why on earth would anyone choose a slice of pumpkin pie when sweet potato pie is on offer?)

Even then a part of me knew that this particular choice was nothing short of an abomination but despite that misstep, the pie was delicious because my grandmother’s recipe is just that good.

That said, aside from a novelty sweet potato french fry option on a random menu, I never gave sweet potatoes much thought until I moved to Japan. And let me tell you. 

Sweet potatoes are BIG in Japan.

They are absolutely everywhere. Here I have found sweet potato tea, sweet potato cheesecake, sweet potato ice cream shaped to look exactly like a roasted sweet potato both inside and out, sweet potato chips, sweet potato crackers, roasted sweet potato almonds, sweet potato taiyaki, candied sweet potato rounds encrusted in white sugar, dried sweet potato slices, glazed sweet potatoes sprinkled with black sesame seeds called daigaku imo which is so popular that Starbucks released a limited edition Daigaku imo Frappuccino here, sweet potato Kit Kats and countless other yum sweet potato things to eat.

While you can find most of the above listed snacks year-round, roasted sweet potatoes, called Yaki Imo, are a seasonal treat to be enjoyed during the fall and winter months. Yaki Imo are naturally sweet so no additional spices or sugar are necessary. Slow roasted on stones until the insides are creamy and caramelized, they are meant to be eaten fresh and warm with the peel intact. And while there are dozens of varieties of sweet potatoes available in colors ranging from pale yellow and gold to brilliant orange and purple, there are generally only four types of sweet potatoes used for Yaki Imo: Satsuma, Beni Haruka, Annou and Milk Sweet, each with distinct sweetness and texture levels. Yaki Imo can be purchased at the grocery store, farmers markets, or specialty shops like Tsubo Yakiimo that sell perfectly roasted sweet potatoes beautifully gift-wrapped in a box! In case you were wondering, Beni Haruka is my favorite. Feel free to buy me one any time the spirit moves you :-)

Be that as it may, purchasing directly from a yaki imo truck is arguably one of the best ways to enjoy yaki imo. Appearing only in the late fall and winter, yaki imo trucks have coal burning ovens or clay pots in the rear and play a recording on repeat to hawk their wares as they slowly make their way on the streets, or parked near busy intersections. They are kind of like the inverse of the Mister Softee ice cream truck, a summertime staple in much of the United States. You can purchase potatoes individually and enjoy them on the spot for anywhere between ¥100 to ¥500, basically one to five US dollars. 

Back home in the US, many large grocery stores place an enclosed heated glass case a few steps from the front entrance to lure customers with the sight and smell of rotisserie chicken. Similarly in Japan, many large grocery stores also place glass cases at the entrance but it is the fragrant scent of roasting sweet potatoes that envelopes you at the door. The scent of chicken means, well, you’ll likely be eating chicken soon. But sweet potatoes? The scent of sweet potatoes promises good things to come and for me, at least, it is a reminder of food lovingly prepared by, or prepared for, those you love and who love you in return.

After all, the most important ingredient in my grandmother’s recipe was not the sweet potato itself, but the love she put into the food she made. More so than the soufflé of course, it was the way she made me feel when I was around her that I truly looked forward to most of all.