Popular snack that comes in colors

The winter season doesn’t always smell cold and frigid.

Strolling on the street, there’s the chance you’ll come across pedlars baking sweet potatoes and corn in large barrels, sending a melting sweet aroma into the air. It’s hard to say no to a perfectly baked sweet potato with its wrinkled skin and hot steam while walking in the cold wind, they have a special healing power.

If autumn is about pumpkins and squashes, winter is the time for sweet potatoes, the soft and sweet root vegetable with numerous ways to enjoy.

In Chinese cuisine, the sweet potato is generally categorized according to the color of the flesh: white, orange/red and purple.

The white-fleshed sweet potato is a drier variety that’s traditionally baked whole or sliced and steamed to serve as an everyday staple, particularly for breakfast and dinner. In some parts of China, the steamed sweet root vegetable often takes the role of the after-meal dessert as well.

The majority of the regular sweet potatoes you will find in Shanghai are the orange flesh variety, and they are suitable for all styles of cooking, from a healthy alternative staple to an essential ingredient that boasts a natural sweetness in rich stews.

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Taste and texture wise, the orange-fleshed variety contains more moisture and a higher sugar content, as well as larger amounts of vitamin A and carotene. It’s the preferred variety in producing sweet potato snacks, such as the semi-dried sweet potato with candy-like texture and the crispy sweet potato chips, baked or fried.

All types of sweet potatoes can be sliced in smaller pieces and boiled in congees with rice and other kinds of cereals and grains. The millet and sweet potato congee is a delicious and healthy combination that simmers the ingredients until they soften, and it’s best served with a small dish of Chinese pickled vegetable or fermented tofu to balance the flavors. Chestnuts, which are also in season, can be added in the congee as well.

Basihongshu, or sugar-glazed sweet potato, is a classic Chinese recipe that fries cubes of orange sweet potatoes before stirring them into a caramel sauce composed of sugar and oil. The fun part of enjoying the dish is feeling the stretching caramel when picking up the sweet potatoes.

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In Cantonese cuisine, sweet and warm soup desserts are called tangshui or tong sui, which translates as “sugar water.” Perhaps the simplest tangshui recipe is sweet potato water, made by boiling large chunks and cubes of yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes in water until they’re tender and the water takes up the natural sweet taste.

To pick the perfect sweet potato from the market, choose the ones with intact smooth skin and no worm holes or dents that can affect the quality. The stale sweet potatoes that are already sprouting are not recommended, taste and food safety wise.

Medium-sized sweet potatoes are ideal for baking and roasting, the slender ones great for steaming because they require less time, while the huge ones are suitable for cutting and slicing in different shapes to make different dishes.

Sweet potatoes can last a month when kept in a ventilated area during winter. Storing them in the fridge may make the color darken.

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Sweet potato starch is also the ingredient for making fentiao, a type of smooth, bouncy, yet easy-to-chew “noodle.” Fentiao is generally sold as a dry ingredient and should be rehydrated before cooking, so it won’t soak up all the soup or sauces instantly and make the pots and pans burn.

Fentiao is used in the famous spicy and sour noodle dish in Sichuanese cuisine, in the pork and Chinese cabbage stew in northeastern China, or as part of delicious fillings for dumplings because they can absorb the extra moisture in vegetables or meat.

The flat and thick sweet potato noodles known as kuanfen or shaofen are more suitable for cooking in spicy hotpot broth, as the broader surface takes on more sauces and the texture is also more fulfilling.

The purple sweet potato is adored for its beautiful rainbow-like color as well as a mildly sweet taste. The saturated natural color is the result of anthocyanin, the antioxidant that also turns cabbages and cauliflowers purple.

In texture, it’s much drier (and starchier) than other types of sweet potato, thus requiring a longer cooking time.

Purple sweet potatoes are mostly used in sweet recipes because they present a dreamy lilac color when cooked with ingredients with no prominent color, such as white fungus and custard, but when added to rich meat stews of brownish red, the purple can become quite unpleasant in presentation.

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Purple sweet potato mash made by steaming the peeled root vegetable and mashing into a smooth paste can be incorporated in a variety of desserts and staple dishes from simple steamed buns to cookies and cakes.

To name a few, there’s the steamed purple sweet potato cake with spongy and airy texture, creamy and smooth purple sweet potato custard, the Chinese pancake with purple sweet potato filling and sweet steamed balls coated with aromatic grated coconut are all popular home cooking recipes, especially among children.

A few years back, there was a purple sweet potato recipe trending on social media — purple sweet potato mash with yogurt, coined as a healthy breakfast or dessert item to satisfy the craving for sugary delights.

The recipe is simple: shape a generous amount of original purple sweet potato mash in a small mountain shape, pour your favorite yoghurt (sugar-free for those going all-in with the healthy diet) on top until it forms a glaze cover, then sprinkle oats, dried fruits and nuts to taste.

The dessert is utterly satisfying, with the sweetness from the healthy root vegetable, a breath of freshness from the slightly sour yoghurt, and crunchy texture from the fun toppings. A low-fat, low-calorie and vibrant dessert that can keep you full for quite a few hours that also excels in presentation. When served chilled, the purple sweet potato mash can have an ice cream-like sensation when mixed together with the yoghurt.

An elevated version of the recipe is to add yam or taro mash into the purple sweet potato.

Purple sweet potato chips in the form of thin slices or sticks are also very popular, with seasonings coming in a variety of flavors from the original sweetness to the spicy mixes that pack a stronger punch.

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How to make the perfect baked sweet potato at home

A baked sweet potato is a winter staple. Other than buying from street pedlars, it can also be made at home easily in several ways, with or without an oven.

The ideal sweet potato variety for baking is the orange or red fleshed, as they are sweeter and more moist. The size and shape of the sweet potatoes should be moderate and even.

Some people prefer to take the extra step of soaking the sweet potatoes in salt water for 30 minutes, which may slightly reduce the bloating and burping after eating the sweet potatoes while elevating the sweetness.

Baking in a conventional oven: Medium-sized sweet potatoes would take an hour of baking at 200 degrees Celsius. Line the baking sheet with foil to avoid sticking and turn them after 30 minutes.

Roasting in a Dutch oven: Line the bottom of the Dutch oven with foil with the shiny side up, arrange the sweet potatoes in the pot without cutting them open, let it cook for one minute on a high heat and then cover with a lid and simmer over very low heat for 40 minutes. Remember to turn the sweet potatoes after 20 minutes to ensure even cooking, and they should be ready when a chopstick can go through the center easily.

Baking in an electric cooker: Choose smaller sweet potatoes, poke small holes with a toothpick so that the heat can penetrate easily. No water is required when cooking the sweet potatoes in electric cookers, and use the cake setting if available.