Sweet Potato with Caramel Sauce is a well-known traditional Han dish that is renowned for its appealing color, aroma, and taste. It is part of the Shandong cuisine. The dish is sweet and fragrant, crispy on the outside, and leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Many people enjoy eating it, and the key to making it lies in controlling the heat, so you need to pay close attention to the temperature when cooking.
Homestyle Sweet Potato with Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
500 grams of sweet potato, 150 grams of sugar, 100 grams of water, 30 grams of sesame oil, 1000 grams of peanut oil
Instructions:
1. Peel the sweet potato, wash it thoroughly, and cut it into chunks using a rolling cut method.
2. Pour peanut oil into a wok and heat it to about 90°C. Fry the sweet potato chunks until they are golden brown and fully cooked, then remove them from the oil and drain off any excess oil.
3. Clean the wok, add water and sugar, and slowly simmer over low heat until the bubbles decrease in size.
4. Continue simmering until the syrup thickens and changes color, then add the fried sweet potato and stir evenly to coat the pieces completely with the syrup.
5. Transfer the sweet potato to a plate that has been lightly coated with sesame oil.
Tips:
When serving, it is best to provide a bowl of hot water, which helps prevent the caramel from sticking to your teeth when eaten together.
Purple Sweet Potato with Caramel Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
3 purple sweet potatoes, 2/3 cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup of water, lettuce (1 head), an appropriate amount of oil
Instructions:
1. Peel the purple sweet potato and cut it into chunks using a rolling cut method.
2. Separate the lettuce leaves, rinse and drain them, and place them on a plate to be used later.
3. Heat a wok and add oil (a bit more than usual). Heat the oil until it is about 70% hot.
4. Once the oil is hot enough, add the sweet potato and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until it can be pierced easily with chopsticks. Remove the sweet potato and drain off the oil, setting it aside.
5. Add 5 tablespoons of oil to the wok, then add the sugar and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves and turns a light yellow color.
6. Add 1/2 cup of water and continue stirring over medium-low heat until the syrup starts to bubble.
7. The syrup should go through a process of bubbling up, then bubbling down, changing color, and becoming viscous (it should be able to pull into threads).
8. Add the sweet potato chunks and stir a few times to coat them evenly with the syrup. Place the sweet potato with caramel sauce on the lettuce leaves and serve while still hot.
Cooking Tips for Sweet Potato with Caramel Sauce
1. When selecting sweet potatoes for caramel sauce, choose those that are starchy and contain a lot of moisture, as they tend to collapse after frying.
2. Do not use too high of a temperature when frying the sweet potato, as it contains natural sugars that can easily burn.
3. Turn off the heat immediately after adding the sweet potato, as the residual heat will be sufficient.
Secrets for Making the Caramel Sauce for Sweet Potato with Caramel Sauce
1. There are five methods for making caramel: oil caramel, water caramel, oil-water caramel, dry pot caramel, and oil-bottom caramel.
2. When making caramel, start by placing a little bit of oil in the pan, then add the sugar and stir continuously over low heat. If the mixture seems dry at first, you can add one or two drops of peanut oil.
3. As the sugar melts and starts to bubble, keep stirring constantly. When the large bubbles turn into small ones and the white syrup turns light yellow, the caramel is ready when it feels sticky on your hands during stirring.