I Tried the TikTok-Famous Sweet Potato “Popsicles” and I’ll Definitely Be Eating Them All Summer Long

Rising up in a Chinese language-American family, dessert was almost always a form of fruit. As a result of we lived in an space with plenty of grocery shops and avenue distributors, my mother and father favored to buy every day quite than make massive purchasing hauls — and this was very true when it got here to supply. My mother would decide some up on her stroll house from work, selecting no matter seemed good to her that day. In the course of the winter months, there could be citrus; in the summertime, we’d share slices of ripe stone fruit and melons.

Within the cooler months, a number of non-fruit objects would make their approach onto our dessert plate, often chestnuts or sweet potatoes. My mother would pop them into the wok as quickly as she acquired house so they might steam as we ate. We’d all then sit on the sofa, peeling away the pores and skin as we watched Hong Kong dramas. Years later, whereas finding out overseas in China, I’d encounter freshly roasted candy potatoes on the streets of Shanghai and at last perceive how the foundation vegetable grew to become certainly one of my mother’s go-to desserts. Picked scorching from metallic barrels that have been rigged to slowly prepare dinner them over coals, the candy potatoes felt each bit as luxurious and candy as a slice of cake.

So after I saw Instagram and Tiktok star George Lee’s tip about freezing candy potatoes, I used to be instantly intrigued. According to Lee, a Taiwan native, frozen candy potato “popsicles” are available in his hometown — you possibly can even discover them at native 7-Eleven shops. Because it’s extremely unlikely that my New York Metropolis grocery retailer would have candy potatoes nestled amongst ice cream sandwiches and King Cones, I made a decision to provide his approach a strive at house.

Making a frozen baked candy potato is as simple because it sounds: You bake it, then freeze it. Somewhat than utilizing the orange-fleshed candy potatoes we affiliate with Thanksgiving, nevertheless, Lee opts for the Japanese satsumaimo, which have purple pores and skin and a lightweight yellow inside. I discovered some at my native Chinese language grocery store and picked up half a dozen, together with a number of orange ones so I may do a side-by-side style check. Lee says to make use of small to medium sprout-free potatoes since they’re much less starchy, which labored out as a result of my market solely had teeny tiny ones (a few of them may actually match within the palm of my hand!).

As soon as house, I scrubbed the surface clear and allow them to air dry fully earlier than popping them into the oven at 450°F. Right here’s the essential half: Don’t prick them! I usually poke candy potatoes throughout with a fork earlier than roasting them, however Lee’s recipe requires leaving them intact, which traps the moisture inside and helps the pores and skin push away naturally from the flesh. I allow them to go for about an hour, then did Lee’s faucet check to see if the pores and skin had separated from the flesh. “It ought to really feel hardened and virtually fully separate from the flesh, making a hole sound,” he explains on his site.

As soon as the skins had separated, I left the candy potatoes on my kitchen countertop to chill earlier than inserting them contained in the freezer. Lee recommends leaving them there for not less than 4 hours; if freezing in a single day, then thaw for 10 minutes earlier than consuming, which is precisely what I did.

I’m so used to mild and fluffy candy potatoes that I used to be initially baffled by simply how creamy these frozen ones have been. The flavors have been so acquainted — candy and barely nutty — however the texture was precisely as Lee describes it: virtually popsicle-like. The following day, quite than consuming one straight out of the pores and skin, I turned my frozen baked candy potato into a fake sundae with a little bit Dealer Joe’s granola and selfmade whipped cream (utilizing my go-to mason jar method). Whereas it’s nowhere as decadent as an actual ice cream sundae, it was an ideal mid-afternoon snack that had simply sufficient sugar to fulfill my candy tooth, but in addition felt filling on the similar time. I gave one to my two-year-old throughout dinner, who proclaimed it was “yummy.” Did he eat it as ravenously as he does a real popsicle? No, however he favored it sufficient that I may see this being a enjoyable chilled snack in the summertime months.

As Lee advises, utilizing the proper of candy potato makes a giant distinction. I additionally tasted one of many orange candy potatoes and whereas it was equally creamy, the candy potato taste was positively extra muted. In the event you’re making an attempt this for the primary time, I like to recommend on the lookout for the Japanese satsumaimo because the caramelization you get is way more pronounced — particularly in the event you allow them to roast lengthy sufficient.