Growing up, my dad always made some variation of sauteed Chinese greens (gai lan, mustard greens or bok choy) a staple in our meals. I’m still working on my kids to get them to enjoy a good stir-fried green, but in the meantime, I recently stumbled on this delicious Japanese-inspired sweet potato dish. These tempura glazed sweet potatoes are super easy to prepare and have roasting in the oven while working on a main dish. The combination of crunchy, sweet and tangy was a hit with everyone in my family, including Gravy Too, who is having a thing right now with vegetables. I say “thing” because it’s not an outright rejection; it’s more like a decidedly tense love-hate situation.
Give these tempura glazed sweet potatoes a shot and let me know what you think!
tempura glazed crunchy sweet potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (washed, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice*)
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil or butter
- scant 1/4 low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
- 1- inch piece of ginger (peeled and grated)
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove (peeled and minced)
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 green onions (diced)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup oil, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, rice vinegar, light brown sugar and garlic; add sweet potatoes and toss to coat well.
- Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray and arrange sweet potato mixture in a single layer.
- Cover dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining oil or butter in a skillet until shimmering.
- Add panko bread crumbs, stirring constantly until panko is golden brown (watch the pan carefully so the panko doesn’t burn).
- Remove panko to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and remove the foil, stirring the potatoes.
- Spread back into an even layer and roast, uncovered, an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove potatoes again, toss, spread back into an even layer and roast for a final 10 minutes.
- Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool slightly. Toss with panko and scallions and serve immediately.
* I like using canola oil or butter when roasting in the oven because the smoke point is lower than that of olive oil, but you can substitute the butter/canola oil with olive oil if you want a healthier option.
(inspired by this Chow.com recipe)
