Kuri Kinton or Candied Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes are a special Japanese New Year dish that symbolizes economic fortune and wealth. Let's make this for a prosperous year ahead!

Kuri Kinton (Candied Chestnuts and Sweet Potatoes)

INGREDIENTS

• 1.1 lb Japanese sweet potato (satsumaimo)
• ▢1 jar kuri kanroni (chestnuts in heavy syrup) (Marrons Glacés; 10 chestnuts)
• ▢½ cup sugar
• ▢½ tsp kosher or sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
• ▢3 Tbsp syrup from kuri kanroni
• ▢1 Tbsp mirin

Optional for Coloring

• ▢2 kuchinashi no mi (dried gardenia pods) (These pods give a bright yellow tint when simmering with the sweet potatoes. They are also used to naturally color “takuan” radish pickles, noodles, and other foods. If you can find them, crack in half and wrap in cheesecloth to cook with the sweet potatoes.)

INSTRUCTIONS

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into ½ inch (1.3 cm) pieces (so that they will be cooked equally).
• Soak the sweet potatoes in water for 15 minutes to remove the starch. Then put them in a large pot and add water just enough to cover them.
• Bring the water to a boil on medium heat. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium low and cook them for 15-20 minutes or until the skewer goes through the sweet potatoes smoothly. Then reserve about ¼ to ½ cup of the cooking water and drain completely.
• Using a wooden spatula, mash the boiled sweet potatoes through a fine-mesh strainer/sieve to puree them. You can use a food processor. If needed, add a little bit of the reserved cooking liquid.
• Here’s the finished pureed sweet potato. Take out all the chestnuts and 3 Tbsp of the syrup from the jar of kuri kanroni.
• In the same pot, add the pureed sweet potato, sugar, salt, mirin, and the syrup from the chestnut.
• Cook, stirring constantly, on low heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. If needed, add the reserved cooking liquid to loosen up the paste (I did not add) and adjust the sweetness with the syrup and mirin.
• Add the chestnuts and cook until heated through, about 3-5 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 hours.

To Serve and Store

• Serve at room temperature. To store, put kuri kinton in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

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