Chinese Sweet Potato Recipe: Crunchy and Sweet Candies!
People often ignore sweet potato considering it has high sugar content, thus harmful to your health. But that is nothing but a myth. Sweet potato is full of vitamins and antioxidants. It improves your vision, aids your digestive system, boosts your immunity, improves your heart health, and does a lot more good to your health.
Let me show you a candied version of sweet potato that is equally favorite to kids and adults. This Chinese sweet potato recipe gives you a crunchy sugary coating that increases the pleasure of eating sweet potato. Let me show you the detailed recipe and every other information you need to make candied sweet potato.
Table of Contents
Overview Of Sweet Potato Recipe
This is an easy recipe, so there isn’t much to worry about. Still, the overview chart can help you plan your time and amount of ingredients.
| Course: Snacks | Cuisine: Chinese | Difficulty: Easy | ||
| Total Time: 15 minutes | ||||
| Serving | Preparation Time | Cooking Time | Calories | |
| 2 persons | 5 minutes | 10 minutes | 209.1 kcal | |
Tools and Utensils Needed for the Recipe
Besides the above ingredients, you will need some tools and utensils to make the sweet potato candy. Here is a list of them.
- A peeler
- A Chinese cleaver
- A small wok or frying pan
- A strainer
- A wire rack
- A wooden spatula
- A serving bowl
I think all of these tools will be available in your kitchen. So, let’s jump into the making process.
Ingredients Needed for the Recipe
You need only these four ingredients to make the sweet potato candy.
- Sweet Potato: 2 large Chinese sweet potatoes
- Sugar: ½ cup of cane sugar
- Oil: 500ml of avocado oil. You can use any other neutral oil, but I prefer not to use seed oil for this recipe.
- Salt: ¼ tsp
Chinese Sweet Potato Recipe: Step-By-Step Instructions
The cutting and frying of sweet potatoes greatly impacts the texture of the candy. Learn how to do it.
Step 1: Peel and Cut the Sweet Potatoes
Peel the sweet potatoes and remove the ends. Then, cut them into irregular chunks. To do this, cut from an angle and then rotate the potato a bit. The chunks should be 1.5 inches in size.
You Can Also Try: Butter Potatoes Chinese Recipe
Step 2: Fry the Sweet Potatoes
Add about 500ml of avocado oil to a small wok or frying pan. The oil temperature should reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit before you put the sweet potatoes in. Once the oil is hot, add the sweet potatoes and fry them for 5-6 minutes.
You Can Also Try: Chinese Buffet Potatoes Recipe
The outside should have a light crust and the center should not be fully soft. Now, take the potatoes out using a strainer and rest them on a wire rack.
Step 3: Make the Sugar Syrup and Dip the Potatoes
Heat the same pan again and add 1 tsp of oil to it. Then, add about ½ cup of cane sugar and stir it. When the sugar starts to melt, add a pinch of salt to the pan to balance the flavor. Once the sugar is fully melted, put the fried sweet potatoes in the pan and stir them well to coat with sugar syrup.
Stirring the potatoes will create some sugar strands. Quickly take them off the heat and let them cool down. You can also dip them in an ice bath to cool them quickly.
Chinese Sweet Potato Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Peel the sweet potatoes and remove the ends. Then, cut them into irregular chunks. To do this, cut from an angle and then rotate the potato a bit. The chunks should be 1.5 inches in size.
- Add about 500ml of avocado oil to a small wok or frying pan. The oil temperature should reach 350 degrees Fahrenheit before you put the sweet potatoes in. Once the oil is hot, add the sweet potatoes and fry them for 5-6 minutes.
- The outside should have a light crust and the center should not be fully soft. Now, take the potatoes out using a strainer and rest them on a wire rack.
- Heat the same pan again and add 1 tsp of oil to it. Then, add about ½ cup of cane sugar and stir it. When the sugar starts to melt, add a pinch of salt to the pan to balance the flavor. Once the sugar is fully melted, put the fried sweet potatoes in the pan and stir them well to coat with sugar syrup.
- Stirring the potatoes will create some sugar strands. Quickly take them off the heat and let them cool down. You can also dip them in an ice bath to cool them quickly.
Nutrition Facts of this Sweet Potato Recipe
Though sweet potato is beneficial for health, frying it in oil and dipping it in sugar syrup increases the calorie count. Each serving of this candied sweet potato has 290.1 calories. It also has the following nutrients.
- Total Carbohydrates: 46.6g
- Protein: 1.7g
- Total Fat: 11.6g
- Saturated Fat: 7.3g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 3g
- Total Dietary Fiber: 2.9g
- Total Sugar: 30.8g
- Cholesterol: 30.5mg
- Sodium: 443.2mg
- Potassium: 368.6mg
- Calcium: 55.7mg
- Iron: 0.8mg
- Magnesium: 27.1mg
- Phosphorus: 50.3mg
- Vitamin A: 14186.9IU
- Vitamin B6: 0.2mg
- Vitamin C: 2.3mg
- Vitamin D: 8.5IU
- Vitamin E: 0.6mg
- Folate: 11.4mcg
As you can already see, sweet potatoes have a huge amount of Vitamin A. So, it is excellent for your vision. It also contains Vitamin E, which improves your skin and hair. All the essential minerals are also present in this recipe.
However, it has a lot of sugar, which can be harmful to your health if you consume the candied sweet potato too often. So, moderate your intake.
Do’s and Don’ts of the Recipe
No matter how simple a recipe is, some good tips are always helpful. You will find a few tips below.
Do’s
- After peeling the potatoes and cutting them, you can put them in water for some time. It will reduce the amount of starch and make the potatoes crispier.
- Make sure the fried potatoes are cooled properly before you dip them in the sugar syrup. The sugar syrup will stick to the potatoes easily.
Don’ts
- Don’t use high heat for making the sugar syrup. It gets burnt quickly.
- Don’t touch potatoes dipped in hot sugar syrup. The hot syrup will stick to your fingers.
Which Sweet Potato Is the Best for This Recipe?
Among the common varieties of sweet potatoes, Beauregard or Hannah sweet potatoes are the best for making candies. They have a firm and dense texture that is suitable for frying.
It results in crisper skin on the outside, which holds the sugary coating better. So, you can make candied sweet potatoes easily with these varieties.
Do I Need to Coat Sweet Potatoes In Starch or Flour Before Frying Them?
Nope. You don’t need any kind of coating for these candied sweet potatoes. The coating will mask the natural flavor of the sweet potatoes. Also, the coating might taste a bit bland, which isn’t suitable for the candy.
So, it is best to fry the sweet potatoes without any kind of coating.
Is Eating Candied Sweet Potatoes Good for Your Health?
Sweet potatoes have a lot of health benefits because they are enriched in essential vitamins and minerals. However, candied sweet potatoes have a lot of sugar, which will increase the risk of high blood sugar, various heart diseases, diabetes, and obesity.
If you eat candied sweet potatoes in a small amount, it won’t be that bad. You can eat this occasionally, like once a week or in two weeks.
Are There Any Other Names for These Candied Sweet Potatoes?
Yes. These candied sweet potatoes are also known as candied yams. As sweet potatoes are commonly called yams in Western countries, you may find this word on the labels in supermarkets.
Conclusion
Candied sweet potatoes have a nice crunch to them due to the sugary coating. When you get inside, the center is a bit chewy, which lets you enjoy the candy for longer. As these candies can be made at home quickly, you can try them instead of buying candies with various chemicals and preservatives from stores.
Once you make candies following this Chinese sweet potato recipe, you can store them for a few days at room temperature. So, make the candies yourself and enjoy some sweet treats while you are celebrating.
