My friend Yuko Mizuno remembers having easy access to sweet potatoes during her youth in Tokyo.
“We had this roasted sweet potato man, a street vendor who would come around the neighborhood with stone-roasted sweet potatoes,” she recalled. Warm and sweet and nutty — “kind of homey,” Mizuno said — satsumaimo was a delicious treat on a cold day.
She was a bit shocked when, after moving to the States in the ’80s to attend graduate school, she tried American sweet potatoes for the first time. They were just too orange, too mushy, too fibrous and not quite sweet enough.
“It was like, ‘Huh, this is potato,’ ” said the Decatur mom, remembering her surprise.
One might have to wait a long time for a vendor to swing by a metro Atlanta neighborhood, but the sweet potatoes of Mizuno’s childhood can be found in specialty markets. They’re worth the search. Simply called Japanese sweet potatoes, they have a creamy, mellow taste reminiscent of chestnuts.
Whole Foods and DeKalb Farmers Market carry Japanese sweet potatoes, as do some specialty groceries. A few local farmers grow Japanese sweet potatoes, so if you subscribe to a community-supported agriculture group, you might discover some in your weekly box. Japanese sweet potatoes are shaped a lot like American sweet potatoes, but their skin is red, and their flesh is golden.
In Japan, sweet potatoes are a common ingredient in tempura and some pastries, but they also can be enjoyed in just about any recipe that calls for American sweet potatoes. Roast them, deep fry them like french fries, add them to vegetable medleys or soups (Mizuno suggests dicing them small and adding to miso soup). They can also be diced and cooked with rice.
Or you can cook them like Mizuno does: “Usually I just microwave them, just like you would a baked potato,” she said. “That’s the easiest.”
At local farmers markets
Apples, arugula, beets, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, endive, escarole, fennel, green onions, herbs, kale, lettuce, mixed greens, mustard greens, parsnips, peppers, radishes, sunchokes, sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, tatsoi, turnip greens, turnips, winter squash
From farther afield
Looking good: Apples, Caribbean asparagus, Chilean avocados, Florida and Mexican beans, Mexican and Texas beets, South American blueberries, Arizona and Mexican broccoli, Mexican brussels sprouts, cabbage, California carrots, Florida and Mexican corn, Florida cucumbers, Florida and Mexican eggplant, Carolina and Texas greens, Texas grapefruit, California and South American grapes, Caribbean honeydews, California and Italian kiwi fruit, California and Arizona oranges, Washington pears, Florida and Mexican peppers, Caribbean and Mexican pineapples, Florida and Mexican summer squash, Florida strawberries, Florida and Mexican tomatoes, Caribbean watermelon
Coming in: Chilean apricots; Georgia broccoli; Argentine cherries; Chilean grapes, nectarines, peaches and plums
Variable quality: California artichokes; Mexican blackberries; Caribbean cantaloupes; Mexican carrots, cucumbers and honeydews; California and Caribbean peas, Mexican and California raspberries, California and Mexican strawberries, Mexican watermelon
Local reports and the Packer
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Chestnut Rice With Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Satsumaimo Kuri Gohan)
Hands on: 5 minutes Total time: 25 minutes Serves: 4
Although this take on a traditional autumn dish makes a great lunch or supper all by itself, the nutty-sweet flavor also makes it a nice complement to roast pork or turkey. The recipe easily doubles.
Ingredient notes: Japanese sweet potatoes are mellower and less fibrous than their American cousins, but you can substitute regular sweet potatoes if you can’t find Japanese. Cook and peel fresh chestnuts, or buy vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts. (Look for Melissa’s brand peeled and cooked chestnuts in the refrigerated area of the produce section.) Mirin, a sweet rice wine used for cooking, can be found in Asian markets or in the Asian section of many grocery stores.
1 cup sushi rice or short-grain white rice, rinsed
1 to 2 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, chopped
8 to 10 chestnuts, cooked, shelled and halved
1 (8-ounce) Japanese sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a saucepan, combine 1 cup water with rice, mushroom, chestnuts, sweet potato, mirin, soy sauce and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, 5 to 10 minutes more, until sweet potato is tender. Taste; adjust seasonings. Fluff with a fork before serving.
Per serving: 274 calories (percent of calories from fat, 3), 5 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated), no cholesterol, 225 milligrams sodium.
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