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    Home » Recipes » Japanese (Traditional)

    Updated: Apr 24, 2023 by Marc Matsumoto · Leave a Comment

    Daigaku Imo - Glazed Japanese Sweet Potatoes

    With a crisp sesame candy coating and a tender, fluffy interior, this Daigaku Imo (大学芋) is an easy Japanese sweet potato recipe that makes for a delicious afternoon snack or sweet side dish for a Japanese meal.
    Recipe Video Pin
    Tender, fluffy Japanese sweet potatoes glazed in a crisp sesame candy shell, Daigaku Imo is an irresistible Japanese street food snack.

    Glazed Japanese Sweet Potatoes (大学芋 - Daigaku Imo)

    Daigaku Imo is a popular snack food in Japan that's often found in street stalls, along with other traditional snacks like Taiyaki and Mitarashi Dango. It's traditionally made by double frying Japanese sweet potatoes before glazing them in a sticky syrup.

    In my version, I like to use a three-step process of steaming, frying, and glazing the sweet potatoes, which creates a crisp lasting exterior while the interior remains tender and moist. 

    Why This Recipe Works?

    • Steaming the Japanese sweet potatoes first makes them soft and creamy.
    • Deep frying the steamed sweet potatoes gives them a uniform golden-brown crust which keeps them from falling apart when you glaze them. 
    • Glazing the outside of the sweet potatoes with a crisp candy coating instead of double frying them keeps them from getting dry and mealy. 
    Glazed Japanese sweet potatoes with hojicha tea.

    Ingredients for Glazed Japanese Sweet Potato

    • Japanese Sweet Potatoes - Japanese sweet potatoes have red skin and yellow flesh, and they tend to be starchier than their Western relatives. This makes them well suited for frying.
    • Rice Syrup - rice syrup is made by saccharifying the starch in rice, which converts them into sugars (primarily maltose). At room temperature, it is very thick (like cold honey) and has a slick surface that gives the Daigaku Imo a beautiful lacquer-like sheen. 
    • Sugar - Maltose tastes half as sweet as regular sugar, so I like to add a bit of sucrose to the mix to give it a slightly sweeter taste. If you want yours to taste less sweet, you can just use the rice syrup. 
    • Black Sesame Seeds - The black sesame seeds add some visual contrast and contribute to the crisp texture of the candy coating while imbuing a wonderfully nutty flavor to the mix.

    How to Make Daigaku Imo

    The first thing you need to do is prepare the Japanese sweet potatoes. I start by giving them a good wash, being careful not to scrub the skin off. Then I trim both ends off of each potato and cut them up using rangiri. 

    To do this, cut off a chunk of sweet potato at a 45-degree angle, and then turn the potato 90 degrees before cutting off another chunk at the same angle. This should allow you to cut the tapered tuber into pieces that are roughly the same size and thickness. 

    As you cut the sweet potato, be sure to put the pieces into a bowl of cold water to keep them from oxidizing. 

    Fill a heavy-bottomed pot with 2-inches of vegetable oil and preheat it to 340 degrees F (180 C). 

    Wash any excess starch off the potatoes, drain them, and then place them in a frying pan with ¼ cup of water. Cover the pan with a lid, and then bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Steam the potatoes for another 5-6 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. 

    Remove the lid and allow any remaining water to evaporate.  

    Once the sweet potatoes are no longer wet, add them to the preheated oil and deep fry them for about five minutes or until they're golden brown. Be sure to turn them over regularly, so they brown evenly. 

    About 2 minutes before the sweet potatoes are done, add the rice syrup and sugar to the frying pan you used for steaming the potatoes and heat the mixture until the sugar is melted. 

    Use tongs to drain and transfer the fried sweet potatoes directly into the syrup and then toss everything together to coat the Daigaku Imo evenly. The mixture should be very sticky to ensure the sugar forms a crisp shell, but if it becomes impossible to mix or it seems like it's starting to burn, add a spoonful of water to loosen things up. 

     Finish the Daigaku Imo by tossing in the black sesame seeds. 

    Daigaku Imo, or "college potatoes," is a classic Japanese street food made with sweet potatoes glazed in sticky syrup and sesame seeds.

    Other Japanese Snack Recipes

    • Mitarashi Dango
    • Crispy Ramen Snack
    • Butter Mochi
    • Ohagi

    FAQ

    What is Daigaku Imo?

    Daigaku Imo literally means "university potato" in Japanese, and it's a sweet snack food made by frying and glazing Japanese sweet potatoes in thick sugar syrup.

    Who invented Daigaku Imo?

    Despite having a relatively short history, it's unclear exactly who created this treat. The consensus is that it was created near one of Tokyo's major universities in the late 1920s or early 1930s. It quickly became a popular snack food amongst hungry college students, most likely where it got its name. 

    How do you pronounce Daigaku Imo?

    Daigaku has three syllables, and Imo has two syllables. They're pronounced as follows:

    dai like die
    ga like gone
    ku like cool
    i like even
    mo like motor

    What is a Japanese Sweet potato?

    All sweet potatoes were first cultivated in South America, but they were brought to Japan by the Portuguese in the 1600s. Known as satsumaimo (サツマイモ) in Japan, they quickly became a staple crop, due to their ability to make up for any shortfalls in the rice harvest. Through selective breeding, Japanese sweet potatoes have become a unique set of cultivars characterized by red skin and pale yellow flesh that becomes vibrant yellow as they're cooked. They tend to be sweeter than Western varieties, but they also have a lower moisture content, making them dry if they're not prepared properly.

    Can I use a different kind of sweet potato?

    As long as the sweet potato you are using is relatively low in moisture, this should work. Higher moisture varieties such as the orange-fleshed variety often found in the US will likely cause the candy coating to dissolve.

    Is Daigaku Imo vegan?

    This recipe is entirely plant-based as long as you use vegan sugar. Some versions use honey or are fried in lard, though, so if you are ordering it at a restaurant, be sure to ask.

    Can I oven bake Daigaku Imo

    After steaming them, you can coat them in a generous amount of oil and then bake them on a parchment-lined sheet pan in the oven. They will not brown quite as evenly as frying them, and they won't be quite as moist on the inside. They're going to absorb a similar amount of oil as deep-frying, and this method takes longer and yields inferior results, so I don't recommend it.

    Can I pan-fry Daigaku Imo

    You can pan fry them after steaming them; however, the browning will be uneven. They also tend to fall apart as you glaze them because they don't get a uniform crust.

    📖 Recipe

    Tender, fluffy Japanese sweet potatoes glazed in a crisp sesame candy shell, Daigaku Imo is an irresistible Japanese street food snack.

    Glazed Japanese Sweet Potatoes (Daigaku Imo)

    By: Marc Matsumoto
    4.34 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Discuss
    Prep Time 3 minutes mins
    Cook Time 12 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Yield 4 servings

    Units

    Ingredients 

    • 450 grams Japanese sweet potato (satsuma imo)
    • Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
    • ¼ cup water
    • ¼ cup brown rice syrup (80 grams)
    • 20 grams evaporated cane sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
    • 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds

    Instructions

    • Trim the ends off of the sweet potato and cut it rangiri by cutting off a chunk of potato at a 45-degree angle from one end and then turning the potato 90 degrees and cutting another chunk off at a 45-degree angle. Repeat until you've cut all of the potatoes into pieces that are roughly the same size and thickness.
      Cut the Japanese sweet potatoes at an angle.
    • Soak the cut potatoes in cold water to keep them from oxidizing.
      Soak the Japanese Sweet Potatoes in water to keep them from oxidizing.
    • Preheat a pot with 2-inches of vegetable oil to 340 degrees F or 180 C.
    • Rinse and drain the potatoes and then put them in a frying pan along with the ¼ cup of water. Cover with a lid and steam over medium-high heat until there is almost no water remaining.
      Steaming Japanese Sweet Potatoes.
    • Open the lid, let any remaining water burn off, and then transfer the sweet potatoes into the hot oil.
      Steamed Japanese sweet potatoes in a frying pan.
    • Fry these until they're golden brown (about 5 minutes), turning them over regularly to ensure they brown evenly.
      Deep-frying Japanese sweet potatoes to make daigaku imo.
    • When the sweet potatoes are almost done frying, add the rice syrup and sugar to the pan you steamed the potatoes in and start heating the mixture to dissolve the sugar.
      Glaze for Japanese sweet potatoes in frying pan.
    • Transfer the sweet potatoes directly from the oil into the glaze and toss them around in the syrup to coat them evenly. If the mixture has gotten too sticky to glaze, you can add a spoonful of water to loosen it up. Add the sesame seeds and toss to distribute evenly.
      Daigaku Imo in frying pan.
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    Nutrition

    Calories 178kcalCarbohydrates 44gProtein 2gFat 1gSaturated Fat 1gSodium 78mgPotassium 384mgFiber 3gSugar 22gVitamin A 15960IUVitamin C 3mgCalcium 58mgIron 1mg

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    Hi, I'm Marc Matsumoto, a retired chef living in Tokyo, and I founded No Recipes to empower home cooks of all levels by sharing essential techniques and my kitchen secrets.

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