Potatoes · Recipe · Tokyo · Reference page

Daigaku imo

Name: Daigaku imo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 600 g sweet potato (purple, or orange kumara), scrubbed and completely dry, in 4 cm pieces with skin; 1 l vegetable oil, to deep-fry (fill the pan one-third full); 2 tbsp honey; 2 tbsp caster sugar; 2.5 tbsp water; 2 tsp light soy sauce; black sesame seeds, to serve

大学芋 (daigaku imo)

Chunks of sweet potato deep-fried at 170 °C and tossed in a glossy caramel of honey, sugar and a little soy sauce, scattered with black sesame. The name means 'university potatoes'. The recipe is Leanne Kitchen's for SBS's Feast magazine.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 10 min
Cooking: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Difficulty: Easy

Equipment

Deep-fryer or large saucepan; thermometer
Small non-stick frying pan for the glaze

Servings4

Ingredients

600 gsweet potato (purple, or orange kumara), scrubbed and completely dry, in 4 cm pieces with skin
1 lvegetable oil, to deep-fry (fill the pan one-third full)
2 tbsphoney
2 tbspcaster sugar
2½ tbspwater
2 tsplight soy sauce
black sesame seeds, to serve

Shopping list

Method

Scrub the sweet potato and pat it dry. Cut into 4 cm pieces, keeping some skin on each, and pat dry again with a clean tea towel.
Why Any water on the surface makes the oil spit and stops the outside crisping.
Fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third full with oil and heat over a medium heat to 170 °C (a cube of bread browns in 15 seconds). Fry the sweet potato for 8 minutes, until deep golden and cooked through. Drain on paper towel.
Timer · 8 min8:00
Meanwhile, put the honey, sugar and water in the small pan over a medium heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes, until golden and starting to caramelise. Add the soy sauce, swirling to combine.
Timer · 5 min5:00
Add the fried sweet potato and toss to coat in the syrup. Tip onto a platter, scatter with black sesame and serve at once.

To drink & serve with

Served as a snack or sweet with green tea.

Substitutions

Purple sweet potato → Orange sweet potato (kumara), as the source suggests.
Black sesame → White sesame seeds.

Common mistakes

Letting the syrup go too dark: it turns bitter. Stop when it is golden.
Frying wet potato: dangerous spitting and a soft crust.

Storage & reheating

Best eaten at once; the glaze softens as it cools.

Safety

Hot oil and hot caramel: take care. Contains soy, gluten (most soy sauces contain wheat) and sesame.

Allergens

Soy · Gluten · Sesame

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Dietary

vegetarian · dairy-free

University potatoes

Daigaku imo means "university potatoes". SBS's Feast magazine says the name is believed to date back to the 1900s, when the dish was popular with university students in Tokyo. The exact story behind the name is not documented in the source we used.

[1]

Fry, then glaze

The sweet potato is fried at a moderate 170 °C for eight minutes, long enough to cook it through and form a crust without burning the sugars in the flesh. A small pan of honey, sugar and water is cooked to a light caramel, sharpened with a little soy sauce, and the hot pieces are tossed in it so the glaze sets glossy on the crust.

[1]

How it connects

Place

origin Tokyo In preparation