Settle into this fall and winter season with a bowl of Sweet Potato Rice (さつまいもご飯)! This comforting Japanese dish combines naturally sweet and tender sweet potatoes with fluffy steamed rice. It’s simple but satisfying food that captures the essence of autumn and winter in Japan.
What is sweet potato rice?
Sweet Potato Rice, or ‘Satsumaimo Gohan’ (さつまいもご飯), is a dish that perfectly blends the comforting flavors of autumn/winter ingredients in Japan. The dish consists of just sweet potatoes and fluffy steamed rice with just a little sake. It contains no additional spices or seasonings, so the flavor really comes from just a few basic ingredients. It’s simple but delicious.
The recipe calls for cooking diced sweet potatoes with short-grain rice, allowing the natural sweetness of the potatoes to infuse the rice. As the sweet potatoes cook, they become tender, which adds a nice bite to the soft rice and creates a delicious blend of textures and flavors. It’s not only a tasty way to incorporate nutritious sweet potatoes into your meal, but it’s also a celebration of seasonal vegetables in Japanese cuisine.
Key ingredients for making sweet potato rice
Rice
Japanese short grain rice is generally used to prepare this dish. This type of rice holds together well and pairs perfectly with the other ingredients. Alternatively you can use brown rice or wild rice but the consistency of the dish will not be the same.
Sweet potato
The sweet potato adds a natural sweetness and beautiful color to the dish. In Japan we often use satsumaimo, a variety of Japanese sweet potato with purple skin and yellow flesh. Sweet potato is usually cut into cubes or thin slices before being cooked with rice. Not only does it improve flavor but it also adds a nutritional boost, providing fiber, vitamins and minerals.
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Sake, or Japanese rice wine, might be a surprising ingredient and is not used in large quantities but is crucial to creating the flavor of the dish. The power of amino acids in cooking sake enhances the flavor of the rice and adds richness. It also helps balance the sweetness of the sweet potato and enhances the flavor of the dish.
Step by step instructions
- Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Soak the washed rice in a rice cooker or large pot with 1.5 cup of water for about 30 minutes.
- Wash and cut the sweet potato into cubes (about 1 cm in size).
- Soak the cut sweet potato cubes with plenty of water in a bowl.
- Pour the sake into the pot/rice cooker and stir. Add the salt.
- Drain the soaking water from the sweet potato cubes. Add the sweet potato on top of the rice.
- If you’re using a rice cooker, simply close the lid and start the cooking cycle.
- If you use a pot on the stovetop:
– Bring the mixture to the boil over high heat.
– Once boiling, reduce the heat to low.
– Cook over a low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. - Once cooked, leave to cook with the lid on and cook for another 10 minutes.
- After steaming, gently fluff the rice with a paddle or fork, stirring in the sweet potato cubes.
- Serve and garnish with black sesame seeds and salt. Enjoy your homemade sweet potato rice bowls!
- Soak the cut sweet potatoes to prevent discoloration and also to eliminate astringency.
- Using all the skin on the potatoes will keep the color brighter and ensure you get all the nutrients.
- For extra flavor you can sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top before serving.
Serving Tips
This dish pairs well with grilled fish like buri teriyaki or chicken dishes with salads and a side of miso soup for a complete meal.
How to Store Sweet Potato Rice
It may turn black or greenish during storage, but that doesn’t mean it has gone bad and you can still eat it safely. Leaving sweet potatoes in the rice cooker for a long time using the keep warm function will cause them to discolor faster, so freezing them is actually more effective at preventing discoloration.
When wrapping the rice in cling film, be sure to keep it flat so the rice is evenly distributed. This is to ensure that the temperature is evenly distributed during freezing and thawing.
After sealing the rice with plastic wrap, place it in a zip-top bag or airtight container that can be closed completely after removing the air. The plastic wrap alone has small air holes, so is not suitable for complete sealing, so additional sealing is essential to avoid freezer burn.
Once the rice has cooled properly, transfer it to the freezer for frozen storage.
This simple and delicious Japanese Sweet Potato Rice recipe is the perfect cozy side dish for the fall/winter season!
Portions:
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Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear.
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Place the washed rice in a rice cooker or large pot with 1 1/2 cups water and let it soak for 30 minutes.
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Wash and cut the sweet potato into cubes. *3
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Soak the diced sweet potatoes in a bowl with plenty of water. *4
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Pour the sake and salt into the pot/rice cooker and stir.
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Drain the soaking water from the sweet potato cubes and add the diced sweet potato on top of the rice in the rice cooker/pot.
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If using a rice cooker, simply close the lid and run the rice cooker cycle. *5
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Once the rice is cooked, leave to cook with the lid on and cook for another 10 minutes.
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After steaming, gently fluff the rice with a rice paddle, stirring in the sweet potato cubes.
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Serve hot in a bowl of rice and sprinkle gomashio (black sesame seed salt) over the rice.
*2 In Japanese it is known as “goma shio” (mixture of black sesame seeds and salt).
*3 Cut into 0.4 inch/1 cm cubes.
*4 Soaking water is not listed in the ingredient list.
*5 If you use a pan on the stovetop,
– Bring the rice, water and sweet potato to the boil over high heat.
– Once it reaches the boil, reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for about 20 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Calories: 208kcal · Carbohydrates: 45G · Protein: 4G · Fat: 0.3G · Saturated fat: 0.1G · Polyunsaturated fats: 0.1G · Monounsaturated fats: 0.1G · Sodium: 411mg · Potassium: 181mg · Fiber: 2G · Sugar: 2G · Vitamin A: 5344UI · Vitamin C: 1mg · Soccer: 25mg · Iron: 1mg
