With their delicate delicacy and nutritional content, sweet potatoes are the perfect meal as a staple and an occasional snack. While some cooking methods can increase the fat and sugar content in sweet potatoes, steaming uses water that doesn't contain any calories so you can enjoy the sweet potato without feeling sorry. And best of all, it's easy - all you need is fire, water and some cooking utensils.
Ingredients
For Regular Steamed Potatoes
- 450 grams of sweet potatoes (about 3-5 pieces)
- 480 ml water
For Other Choice Variations
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, mashed
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1/2 white onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon clove powder
Step
Method 1 of 2: Steaming Sweet Potatoes
Step 1. Peel the sweet potato
Usually this step is easiest to do with a conventional potato peeler. You can also use a sharp knife.
Dispose of the sweet potato skins in a compost bin so it doesn't go to waste. Better yet, cut the skin of the sweet potato into long strips, leaving a bit of flesh underneath and cook into a sweet potato skin snack
Step 2. Cut the sweet potato
The exact size doesn't matter - cutting each sweet potato into three or four pieces is usually sufficient. The important thing is to make sure that all the pieces are about the same size, so that the sweet potato cooks evenly.
Step 3. Place the sweet potatoes in the steaming tray
Steaming sweet potatoes means exposing them to hot steam without soaking them in boiling water. To do this, first place the sweet potato pieces in the steaming tray, which is a metal utensil that is placed in a saucepan over boiling water. Place the filled steaming tray in a large saucepan with 480 ml of water at the bottom of the pan.
If you don't have a steaming tray, you can make one out of a small metal sieve. You can even insert a clean cake rack in the bottom of your pan
Step 4. Bring the water to a boil
Place the steaming pot and tray on the stove over high heat. Cover the pot. When the water is bubbling, lower the stove temperature to medium heat. Let the sweet potatoes cook until completely soft.
- Cooking time will vary from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how big the sweet potato is. It's a good idea to check the potatoes for doneness after about 12 minutes. You can do this by poking the sweet potato with a fork. If the fork pierces the sweet potato easily, it means it's cooked. If it's still tough, cook for another 5 minutes.
- Carefully remove the lid from the pot - the steam escaping can burn your skin.
Step 5. Serve and enjoy
When the sweet potato is soft, this food is ready to eat. Turn off the stove and transfer the sweet potatoes to a serving plate. Serve immediately. Season to your taste.
Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet in taste, you can just enjoy them if you like. But in the next section, we provide some serving suggestions if you don't like eating sweet potatoes on their own
Method 2 of 2: Recipe Variations
Step 1. Enjoy the steamed sweet potato with butter, salt and pepper
Like potatoes, sweet potatoes are also suitable to be eaten with these three ingredients. This recipe isn't fancy but is always a good choice.
If you want, you can simply mix the sweet potatoes with the butter, salt and pepper once they are done steaming. However, if you are dining with someone with a picky taste, you may want to serve the sweet potato plain with butter, salt and pepper nearby so that everyone can add as much seasoning as they want
Step 2. Try the savory sweet potato with garlic
Garlic may not seem like a suitable seasoning for sweet potatoes. But the savory taste actually complements the softness of the vegetables. However, don't use too much garlic as the taste can easily overpower the soft taste of the sweet potato.
- Steam the potatoes as usual.
- Add the olive oil, minced garlic, and rosemary to a serving plate along with the sweet potatoes. Stir well to mix and coat all the sweet potatoes evenly.
- Garnish with ground pumpkin seeds for serving.
Step 3. Cook with onions
Onions are another savory vegetable that goes well with sweet potatoes. Like garlic, onions are an ingredient you don't need to add too much, as they can overpower the sweet potato's distinctive flavor. For best results, use white, yellow, or sweet onions - red onions contain less sugar, so they are less sweet.
Adding onions to steamed sweet potatoes is very easy: just chop half an onion into small pieces and steam it in a saucepan along with the sweet potato
Step 4. Season with your favorite spices
Adding the right spices to sweet potatoes can make the dish taste like dessert without adding any extra calories. Sweet, fragrant spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves usually go well with sweet potatoes.
The first time you sprinkle a little - if it's not enough you can add more, but you won't be able to take it back if you've already poured it
Tips
- A glaze of brown sugar is another common accompaniment in serving sweet potatoes. But this glaze is more difficult to make when you steam it. Your best bet is to make a glaze out of brown sugar and melted butter, then pour it over the steamed sweet potatoes and place the dish in the preheated oven. Since the sweet potatoes are already steaming, remove them from the oven after about 10 minutes.
- Sweet potatoes are available in several colors and flavors. They're all cooked pretty much the same way, so try mixing and matching different types of sweet potatoes for a colorful serving.
