Yakiimo Recipe?

I have heard about yakiimo (the baked sweet potato) and I was wondering if anyone has a recipe for making them at home (since I can't cook them over a fire). Thanks.

I haven't tried it myself yet, but according to an internet source, the best way is to wrap the sweet potato with aluminium foil or apply oil all over the potato (both are to keep the moisture within the potatoe), then put the potato in an oven, bake it for about 40 minutes at 180 celsius (or 356F).
Hope it works. :)

Thanks! I will have to try that.

Yakimo that I bought wasn't covered in oil or moist. It was baked in the back of a truck. The skin was dry and mildly burnt in places. The key to its goodness is in the potato. You need to find a good source for Japanese sweet potatoes. The American potatoes just don't have the flavor.

To wrap the potato in foil or cover with oil is just in case you bake it in an gas/electric oven at home! :)
If you can bake it in the bonfire (normally deeply buried under fallen leaves and not in the centre of the fire but with some distance), or if you can use the special oven (at the back of the truck they have some wood fire oven), then you do not need to use foil...
I do not know about sweet potatos in the US, but the flaky, sweeet ones (in Japan those called "kintoki" for example) are the best for yakiimo.

I am having trouble baking sweet potatos in my oven, I do not want to keep moisture in, but to dry them out!
When I cook them they seem to be too be soggy, although they taste OK.

The ones we ate in Japan were dryer, and great to eat just holding them in your hand....these would sort of squish if you tried to hold them!!!

I wondered if I cook them for too long...about 1 hour at 200 degrees centigrade.
Or is it too hot? Not hot enough?

May it be the type of sweet potato

When I cook other potatos in this way they are fine.

I would be very grateful for advice. :-)

You can buy a caste iron baking pot for your gas range. They are cheap and it cook'em up in about 35 minutes. It's in the shape of a bunt cake mold but with a lid. You just put them in and turn on the gas.
Good stuff.
Lots of extra iron too.

I can bake sweet potatoes in the oven as you would cook jacket potatoes. Don't put any oil on the potatoes.
Traditionally yakiimo is cooked on baked stones or in bonfire but it's not practical.
My mum used to put sweet potatoes wrapped in foil on stove too make yakiimo. That worked really well too. You just need to turn it regularly so that they cook evenly.

Prick potato skin with fork--all over the potato. Wrap with plastic wrap ("Saran" wrap). Cook in microwave about 3-4 minutes, depending on potato size.

If you want moist taste, boil the potatoes in pot. Fill with just enough water to cover.

I know this is way after the initai post. But if anyone is still looking....Japanese sweet potatoes are different than the varity that we get in the US. They are drier and have a more nutty taste. I still have not been able to figure out a way to get our poatates to taste the some, but some specialty produce places have the Japapese Sweet Pots. Good Luck.

I used to be a baked sweet potato seller with a small truck about 10 years ago here in Japan. Please try lining
small stones with your pot just under potatoes. It's gonna be very effective to steam them. I really recommend
Naruto-Kintoki for your baked sweet potatoes if it's possible to get them.

Hi All,
I make ishi yaki imo for my wife here in Los Angeles. She ate them as a kid in Japan. (she's Japanese). She loves them.

I'd be happy to explain the steps if you would like.

Let me know...and does anyone know where to buy Kintoki sweet potatoes in USA??

That's the next step UP.

Yoroshiku,
Bruce

Anyone know where to purchase kintoki sweet potatoes?

And, what is ishi yaki imo?

I forgot to mention . . . where can I find kintoki sweet potatoes in Seattle?

ishi yaki imo= stone baked potatoes

the best way to make yakiimo at home is on a covered grill over coals. keep the fire low and let the imo (in foil) cook for maybe an hour--or more--depends on heat--while you're doing other things. comes out great! without the grill, it's hard to get it to carmelize under the skin, which is what makes it taste so yummy.

I love japanese food and this recipe is music to my ear. I want to try this..

Wash potato and wrap in tin foil and place on a grill on low low heat for about one hour and turn so it it cooked evenly. YOu can test to see if it is soft by squeezing the foil. It was so deliciou and moist - it didn't need a thing. Enjoy.

Try a cast iron nabe pot. Covered it with a pot lid, put the whole thing on the gas burner, and let it cook for an hour over a low flame. It was black on one side-but sooo delicious!