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One thing that I find really lacking in the States (or at least in the San Francisco area) during the holiday season is the lack of festive markets and street food vendors. Traveling to other countries during the festive season, I absolutely love taking advantage of the charming activities that make holiday cheer and coziness spill into the streets; even when it’s cold and snowy, there’s a feeling of warmth as everyone is happily shopping for tasty treats. I also love when street foods double as hand warmers. In South Korea, piping hot sweet potatoes are the perfect street snack for this dual purpose of reviving numb fingers and filling bellies.

Another popular Korean way to have sweet potatoes at this time of year is goguma mattang—candied sweet potatoes. Chunks of sweet potatoes are deep-fried and then tossed in caramelized sugar, resulting in pieces that have the finest crackly sugar coating on the outside and are fluffy on the inside. When Bibigo USA asked me to incorporate one of their products into a Korean fall/winter snack, I realized that their mini wontons would go perfectly with that same candied coating as the sweet potatoes in goguma mattang.

This is admittedly not the easiest recipe. There were many fails in the test kitchen (a.k.a. my home kitchen) before I got an outcome that was happy with. So, I have to say that this recipe is definitely for those who are more quick-handed and quick-footed in the kitchen. I found that the key was keeping the mini wontons and sweet potato chunks hot after frying, so that the sugar mixture doesn’t get a cold shock and immediately harden before it has time to coat them. If you get it right, though, you will be rewarded with a sweet-savory texture medley that is sure to be belly-warming.

Ingredients

1 medium Korean sweet potato, peeled
12–14 Bibigo Chicken & Vegetable Mini Wontons
1 tbsp neutral oil, plus more for frying
3 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

Procedure

Use the rangiri technique to cut the sweet potato into random, multi-faceted 1-inch pieces. Begin by cutting off a small piece from one end at an angle. Roll the sweet potato 90 degrees (or a quarter of the way) and make another diagonal cut in the middle of the previously-cut surface. Continue rolling and cutting the rest of the sweet potato.

Soak the sweet potato pieces in cold water for 10 minutes to remove excess starchiness. Drain, pat dry, and allow to dry completely, for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, fill a small pot about 1.5 inches deep with oil. Fry the mini wontons, in batches if necessary, until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Then deep fry sweet potato pieces the same way. Drain on paper towels.

Place fried mini wontons and sweet potatoes in the oven on the warm setting, or at 180–200°F to keep warm. (This is important to help the sugar coating spread evenly on their surface without hardening too quickly.)

Prepare a large tray lined with parchment paper.

To a large, shallow pan, add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to distribute. Turn on heat to medium and scatter sugar over oil. (I found that it was better to not stir or agitate the mixture too much at this point.) Once sugar begins to melt, reduce heat to low. Once sugar is all melted, add the fried mini wontons and sweet potatoes and use a rubber spatula to gently mix together. Keep mixing for 1–2 minutes until everything is coated.

Pour contents onto the prepared parchment paper and quickly make sure none of the pieces are touching. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and allow sugar coating to harden before transferring to a bowl to serve.

Thank you so much to Bibigo USA for sponsoring this recipe! For more recipe ideas and to learn more about their products, visit their website!