This chicken and sweet potato recipe has it all – juicy chicken thighs with tender Japanese sweet potatoes, cooked until golden and glazed in a delicious savoury soy sauce. It takes 30 minutes to make and is really simple to put together, I promise!
I honestly cannot get enough of Japanese Sweet Potatoes – they’re creamy, have an earthy sweetness and are incredibly versatile. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert! Once you try these sweet potatoes, you’ll understand.
I really got into them when I was working as a chalet host in a snowy village in Japan, called Myoko-kogen, incase you’re curious. One of my friends gave me an amazing tip – cook them in the rice cooker. So easy, and soo good. They became our staple snacks on the slopes, giving us loads of energy, and tasting amazing at the same time!
Japanese Sweet Potato VS Sweet Potato
There are soo many different types of sweet potato, each with its own qualities that lends themselves to different ways of cooking. The photo below shows a comparison of the skin and flesh of a Japanese sweet potato (top) vs an orange sweet potato (bottom).
As you can see, theres a huge difference in colour. In terms of texture the Japanese sweet potato is creamy, dense and smooth. Whereas the orange sweet potato is stringy and higher in water content, so is more moist.
Flavour-wise, the orange sweet potato lives up to its name, and is rather sweet taste and mild in flavour. Whereas the Japanese sweet potato can be incredibly sweet (depending on season) but more complexly so, as well as having an earthy and slightly nutty flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely, you can you any potatoes – sweet or non-sweet. You might need to adjust the cooking time depending on what potato you use. Just make sure they are fork tender before serving.
This will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. Try to refrigerate as soon as possible, in an airtight container.
Your best bets are at a greengrocers or an international shop. Look out for “White Flesh Sweet Potato”, supermarkets like Sainsburys or Ocado sell them online too.
3 Tips for Cooking This Recipe
- Caramelise the potato. Fry the potato on all sides until they are golden, this gives the dish a deeper and more complex flavour.
- Cutting the potato. Try to cut the potato into irregular angled chunks. It’s not essential, but it’s used a lot in Japanese home cooking. This technique increases surface area which helps the vegetable cook quicker.
- Find smaller potatoes. In my experience, the thinner Japanese sweet potatoes are the sweetest and have the richest flavour.
How to Serve This Recipe
I would serve with with a bowl of hot rice and some steaming Tofu Miso Soup, with some extra veggies added in. If you want more Japanese potato recipes, this Japanese Pork and Potato is similar but uses pork and new potatoes, and is just as satisfying!
Sweet Potato Nutrition
Sweet potatoes are packed with fibre and loaded with vitamins and minerals. It’s hard to get exact measurements but they are most notably high in vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese.
Check out this link to a Healthline article to find out more about the nutritional value of sweet potatoes.
Japanese Chicken and Sweet Potato Nutrition (per serving)
- Calories: 410 kcal
- Fat: 7.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 44.9 g
- Sugars: 28.1 g
- Fibre: 3.4 g
- Protein: 37.2 g
- Salt: 0.7 g
Nutrition information is an estimate generated using Cronometer and is intended for guidance only.
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Chicken and Japanese Sweet Potato
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 medium Japanese sweet potato (Approx 250g, chopped into chunks)
- 3 large chicken thighs (Approx 250g, sliced into bite-sized pieces)
Sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 90 ml water (6 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
- Pre-heat a pan on a medium heat and add about 1/2 a tablespoon of neutral oil.
- Fry the Japanese sweet potato chunks for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Once golden, transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Add more oil to the same pan and add in the chicken. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned.
- Add the sweet potato back to the pan along with the sauce. Cover with a lid and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the potato is fork tender.
- Once potato is tender, take off the lid and let the sauce reduce till a desired thickness.
- Serve and enjoy!
