Sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients and minerals beneficial to health such as vitamin A, C, B6, potassium… Consuming sweet potatoes has many benefits such as weight loss, digestive health, cancer prevention, eye protection, reducing stress…
Because of these reasons, you can incorporate sweet potatoes into your daily diet. However, not everyone knows how to boil sweet potatoes in a delicious way.
Ingredients:
– 1 kg sweet potatoes, medium-sized tubers, not too large to avoid uneven cooking.
– 1/2 teaspoon of salt
– Clean water
Instructions:
– Although the boiling method is important, you should also pay attention to selecting the right sweet potatoes. Good sweet potatoes are firm, sweet, and starchy. Choose tubers with firm flesh, without fibers or decay. Some varieties are better for boiling, so ask the seller for advice.
– In addition, when you bring sweet potatoes home, do not wash and boil them immediately. Let the sweet potatoes dry in a cool, dry place for a few days to reduce their moisture content.
– This step will prevent mold and rot, and the starch in sweet potatoes will convert into various sugars, making the sweet potatoes softer and sweeter.
– Here’s how to boil sweet potatoes: After drying, wash the sweet potatoes and put them in a pot. Add a little salt (about 1/2 teaspoon) and enough water to cover the sweet potatoes. The salt will make the sweet potatoes tastier.
– Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for an additional 10-13 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft. Test them with a skewer to make sure they’re cooked through without being mushy.
Tips for selecting good sweet potatoes
Observe the shape of the sweet potatoes
A good sweet potato is usually narrow at both ends and thick in the middle. In addition, the skin of good sweet potatoes will have a brighter and more even color compared to inferior sweet potatoes.
Examine the skin of the sweet potatoes
When choosing sweet potatoes, avoid those with scratches or uneven skin color. Also, do not choose sweet potatoes with black spots on the skin, as they are likely rotten and spoiled, even if they are cheap.
Smell the scent of the sweet potatoes
Smelling the sweet potatoes is also one of the secrets to selecting good and sweet ones.
If the sweet potatoes have a strong, pungent smell, it means that they have been infested by pests that make the flesh of the sweet potatoes bitter and inedible. These pests are commonly known as “bitter pests.”
On the other hand, if you smell a light, natural fragrance when sniffing the sweet potatoes, they are of high quality.
Note: Do not over-boil the sweet potatoes, as they will become mushy and lose their firmness.