The dish is called Goguma Mattang in Korea and Daigaku Imo in Japan. Unlike the American version which is served as a side dish, the Korean and Japanese candied sweet potatoes, cooked without butter and often topped with black sesame seeds, are served as a snack.
But that’s really an aside. This is a recipe for the American side dish — baked, not deep fried, and cooked with copius amounts of butter.
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Asia but sweet potatoes are available all year 'round. It's one of the least expensive vegetables too. So, this side dish is good any time of the year especially with fried chicken, pork chops or roast beef!
Ingredients
- 500 grams sweet potatoes
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar firmly packed
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into one-inch cubes.
- In a large bowl, toss the sweet potato cubes with brown sugar.
- Take a tablespoon of the melted butter and brush on the bottom of a shallow baking pan.
- Spread the brown sugar coated sweet potato cubes on the buttered pan in a single layer.
- Drizzle the remaining melted butter over the sweet potatoes.
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper evenly over the sweet potato cubes.
- Bake the sweet potatoes at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a fork inserted at the center or a sweet potato cube goes all the way through without resistance.
