Sweet Potato Rice

Cosy up this autumn 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 a simple yet satisfying food that captures the essence of fall 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 is made from just sweet potatoes and fluffy steamed rice with just a little bit of sake. It has no extra spices or seasonings so the flavor truly comes from just a few basic ingredients. It’s simple but so delicious.

The recipe involves cooking cubed 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 yummy blend of textures and flavors. It’s not only a tasty way to incorporate nutritious sweet potatoes into your meal but is also a celebration of seasonal vegetables in Japanese cuisine.

Key Ingredients to Make Sweet Potato Rice

Rice

Japanese short-grain rice is typically used to make this dish. This type of rice holds together well and complements the other ingredients perfectly. Alternatively, you can use brown rice or wild rice but the texture of the dish will not be the same.

Sweet Potato

Sweet potato adds a natural sweetness and a beautiful color to the dish. In Japan, we often use satsumaimo, a variety of Japanese sweet potato with purple skin and yellow flesh. The sweet potato is usually cut into small cubes or thin slices before being cooked with the rice. It not only enhances the flavor but also adds a nutritional boost, providing fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Sake

Sake, or Japanese rice wine, might be a surprising ingredient and it isn’t used in large quantity but it is crucial in creating the flavor of the dish. The power of the amino acids contained in cooking sake brings out the flavor of the rice and adds richness. It also helps to balance the sweetness of the sweet potato and enhances the aroma of the dish.

Step by Step Instructions

1. 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.
2. Wash and cut the sweet potato into small cubes (about 1cm size).
3. Soak the cut sweet potato cubes with plenty of water in a mixing bowl.
4. Pour in the sake to the rice cooker/pot and stir. Add the salt.
5. Drain the soaking water of sweet potato cubes. Add the sweet potato on top of the rice.
6. If using a rice cooker, simply close the lid and start the cooking cycle.
7. If using a pot on the stovetop:
   – Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
   – Once boiling, reduce the heat to low.
   – Simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.
8. Once cooked, keep the lid on and let it steam for an additional 10 minutes.
9. After steaming, gently fluff the rice with a rice paddle or fork, mixing the sweet potato cubes throughout.
10. Serve and garnish with black sesame seeds and salt. Enjoy your homemade sweet potato rice bowls!

Serving Suggestions

This dish pairs well with grilled fish such as 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 this does not mean it has spoiled and you can still safely eat it. 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 in preventing discoloration.

When wrapping the rice in plastic wrap, make sure to keep it flat so that 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 ziplock bag or airtight container that can be closed completely with the air removed. Plastic wrap alone has tiny air holes, so it is not suitable for a complete seal, so additional sealing is essential to prevent freezer burn.

Once the rice has cooled properly, transfer it to the freezer for frozen storage.