← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 500 g white-fleshed Korean or Japanese sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
• 750 ml neutral oil, for deep-frying
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp rice syrup, corn syrup or golden syrup (optional)
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds

Method

1. Rinse the sweet potato chunks in cold water to wash off surface starch, then dry them very thoroughly with a tea towel.
2. Heat the oil in a deep pan to 160°C (320°F). Fry the sweet potato in two batches for 6–7 min, until a skewer slides in easily. Lift out onto a rack.
3. Raise the heat to 180°C (350°F) and fry all the pieces again for 2–3 min, until golden and crisp. Drain well.
4. Line a tray with baking paper. In a wide frying pan, heat the tablespoon of oil, sugar, syrup and salt over medium-low heat. Do not stir; just swirl the pan until the sugar melts and turns a light amber, about 3–4 min.
5. Tip in the fried sweet potatoes and turn the heat to low. Toss quickly for 30 seconds until every piece is glazed.
6. Spread the pieces apart on the paper so they do not glue together, sprinkle with black sesame and let the caramel set for 5 min until hard and crunchy.

Tips

• Molten caramel causes nasty burns: keep children away from the pan and never touch it to taste.
• Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes work but are softer and wetter; cut them a little larger and fry until well browned.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Beyond Kimchee The Kitchn