Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Minatamis na Kamote (Sweet Potato in Rich Syrup)

A bad kamote (sweet potato) experience as a youngster put me off this tuber for a long time. I would naturally substitute regular potato for any savoury recipe that calls for kamote.


I was re-introduced to it when my wife craved minatamis na kamote and asked me to prepare some. I willingly obliged, of course, consequentially resurrecting a dead and buried taste for this root crop.


I like my minatamis chewy and stretchy. By this I mean I want the kamote almost candy like. I prefer it to have a bit more bite resulting from engorging each piece of kamote in the rich syrup. This is not hard to achieve. NEVER ADD WATER!


The recipe is actually quite simple and needs only 3 ingredients. I use the purple skinned/white fleshed sweet potato variety. This strain of kamote, I find, is able to hold its shape well even after a long cooking process.


Minatamis na Kamote

1-2 kamote (sweet potato) cut into cubes
1-2 cups brown sugar (depending on how much syrup you want)
A bit of butter

1. In a thick based pan combine the kamote and the sugar. Use low to medium heat. There is no need to put any liquid as the water in the kamote should suffice to melt the sugar. Using water will boil the kamote and not result in the chewy texture that I’m after. Let this simmer for about an hour.
2. Add a bit of (real) butter at the end then turn the heat off. This is a personal preference. The butter turns the ordinary syrup into something like creamy caramel.

5 comments:

Julie Ann Events said...

This looks good... I will have to try it. Down here in the south (of the US) they like to make a sweet potato casserole that involves mashing up the potato, adding a LOT of brown sugar, butter and chopped up pecans. I love that... my husband doesn't (and he's from here!).

The Beancounter said...

sound like a good pie filling Julie... might experiment with it one day!

Do try the recipe... simple pero very satisfying!

The Beancounter said...
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Tangled Noodle said...

It's amazing how many basic Filipino ingredients that I didn't like as a child are now massive cravings for me: coconut, kamote, bagoong and all kinds of vegetables! I can't remember having minatamis na kamote but I'm definitely going to try it now. I'm the opposite of you - I prefer more of a syrup-y syrup than candy-like. Can I add a bit of water to this recipe?

The Beancounter said...

definitely add water if that's your preferred consistency.. a quarter of a cup would make a huge difference...