By Honorary Reporter Tri Iva Fitriani from Indonesia

Photo = Tri Iva Fitriani

(Tri Iva Fitriani)

Korea has snacks for each season, and during the cold winter, warm and sweet desserts are in demand. Goguma mattang (candied sweet potatoes coated with caramelized sugar) is one such food eaten either as a dessert or side dish, tasting crunchy outside and soft inside.

With the COVID-19 pandemic severely limiting travel, people abroad need not go to Korea to enjoy this food. Try making goguma mattang at home using my own recipe.

Ingredients:

500 g of sweet potatoes (or about two of medium size) that are preferably Korean or Japanese but any kind suitable for deep frying will work

4 cups of cooking oil

Salt to taste

4 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons of oil

Toppings (optional)
Roasted sesame seeds

Crushed roasted peanuts

(Tri Iva Fitriani)

Directions
Thoroughly wash and peel the skin off the sweet potatoes and cut them into small cubes of one to two inches or bite-size wedges. Wash the cubes again.

Soak the cubes in cold water, add salt to taste and leave them for 30 minutes to lower the sap.

Make the topping while waiting for the cubes to dry. Use sesame seeds, crushed peanuts or both as optional toppings. Heat the pan over low heat and toast the sesame seeds until lightly browned.

After 30 minutes, wash the cubes again and drain them using kitchen paper.

Deep fry the cubes at 180 C (or until boiling) until they are golden brown, a profess that usually takes six to nine minutes. Remove them from the pan and drain them.

To make the caramel coating, add three tablespoons of oil that was used to fry the cubes and scatter the sugar around into a shallow pan. Heat over low heat until the sugar melts and let the caramel turn into a golden brown color. Add the cubes and mix well with the caramel until each piece is coated (takes one to two minutes).

Finally, serve and sprinkle with sesame seeds, crushed peanuts or both.

In addition, corn syrup or honey can be used instead of sugar and using coconut oil instead of cooking oil will improve the taste. 

enny0611@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.