Recipe of Perfect Chestnut and Sweet Potato Yokan

Hey everyone, it is Brad, welcome to my recipe site. Today, we’re going to prepare a special dish, chestnut and sweet potato yokan. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I will make it a little bit tasty. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

The sweet potatoes are done when a skewer pierced into the center comes out clean. Sweet Potato and Chestnut Yokan Jelly In Japan, there is an old saying that all girls like sweet potatoes, chestnuts and pumpkins. Photographed by Akio Takeuchi *You will leave the NHK website. Instead of Azuki red beans flavor, some yokan are instead made with chestnuts (Kuri Yokan 栗ようかん), Japanese sweet potatoes (Imo Yokan 芋ようかん), or the combination of white beans and Matcha (Matcha Yokan 抹茶ようかん).

Chestnut and Sweet Potato Yokan is one of the most favored of current trending foods in the world. It is easy, it’s quick, it tastes delicious. It’s appreciated by millions daily. Chestnut and Sweet Potato Yokan is something which I’ve loved my whole life. They’re fine and they look wonderful.

To begin with this recipe, we have to prepare a few ingredients. You can cook chestnut and sweet potato yokan using 13 ingredients and 12 steps. Here is how you cook that.

The ingredients needed to make Chestnut and Sweet Potato Yokan:

1. Prepare 400 grams Sweet potato, peeled
2. Take 20 grams Sugar
3. Make ready 1 pinch Salt
4. Make ready 80 grams Sweetened chestnuts, shelled (See recipe below. Store bought is fine)
5. Prepare 2 grams ☆ Kanten powder
6. Take 100 ml ☆ Milk
7. Prepare 50 ml ☆ Syrup from the sweetened chestnuts
8. Get Sweetened chestnuts
9. Make ready 80 grams Chestnuts, shelled and skinned
10. Get 120 ml Water
11. Take 40 grams Sugar
12. Take 1 pinch Salt
13. Make ready 1 tsp Mirin

The texture of roasted chestnuts goes just perfect for this vegetables side dish. It stays soft enough but it's got that nice bite to it cos it's oven roasted chestnuts. As you can see this is a vegetable side that is also vegan, apart from being packed with mineral and fibres. In autumn, you can usually find season-exclusive flavours like sweet potatoes, chestnut, and persimmon.

Instructions to make Chestnut and Sweet Potato Yokan:

1. Peel the sweet potatoes, slice into 1-1.5 cm half moons, then soak in water for about 10 minutes.
2. Drain the sweet potatoes (they can be wet), put in a heat-resistant dish, cover loosely in plastic wrap, then microwave for 6-7 minutes at 600W.
3. The sweet potatoes are done when a skewer pierced into the center comes out clean. Pass the sweet potatoes through a sieve to purée. This step is tedious, but essential to the taste of this dish, so persevere!
4. Roughly chop chestnuts into 5 mm cubes.
5. Heat milk, the syrup from the chestnuts, and kanten in a pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes while stirring. Dissolve the kanten powder while simmering.
6. Add sugar and salt and mix well until they have dissolved. Remove from heat, add puréed sweet potato, then knead together.
7. Fold in the chopped chestnuts, fill a mold with the mixture, wrap in plastic wrap, then press with a flat object, as if you were making pressed sushi.
8. When it cools down, chill it in the refrigerator. After 2 or 3 hours, after it is well-chilled and set, remove from the mold, cut into desired sizes, then serve.
9. To make the sweet chestnuts: Soak shelled and skinned chestnuts in water. Put in a sauce pan, add water, sugar, and salt, then heat.
10. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat. Add mirin and simmer for 5 more minutes (without a lid) and allow to cool in the pan.
11. I used a 4.5 cm by 34 cm half moon mold. For molds without removable bottoms, I recommend lining the mold with plastic wrap.
12. They also turn out great pressed in a rose-shaped silicon mold! If you have silicon molds, give it a try.

As you can see this is a vegetable side that is also vegan, apart from being packed with mineral and fibres. In autumn, you can usually find season-exclusive flavours like sweet potatoes, chestnut, and persimmon. Toraya's kurimushi yokan (literally "steamed chestnut yokan bar") - Exclusively sold from September to November. Yes, it is indeed a steamed yokan with Japanese fresh chestnuts. If you visit in September you can try their chestnut and sweet potato flavour yokan.

Learn How to Boost Your Mood with Food

Most of us have been trained to think that comfort foods are terrible and should be avoided. Often, if your comfort food is made of candy or other junk foods, this is true. Other times, however, comfort foods can be totally nutritious and it’s good for you to eat them. There are a number of foods that basically can improve your moods when you consume them. When you are feeling a little down and are in need of an emotional boost, test out a couple of these.

Eggs, believe it or not, are terrific for helping you fight depression. You need to make sure, however, that what you make includes the yolk. When you want to cheer yourself up, the yolk is the most essential part of the egg. Eggs, the egg yolks in particular, are high in B vitamins. These B vitamins are fantastic for helping to boost your mood. This is because they help in improving the function of your neural transmitters, the parts of your brain that affect your mood. Consume an egg and feel happier!

Make a trail mixout of various seeds and nuts. Peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc are all fantastic for helping to boost your mood. This is possible because these foods are rich in magnesium which increases serotonin production. Serotonin is referred to as the “feel good” chemical and it tells your brain how you should be feeling all the time. The more of it in your brain, the more pleasant you’ll feel. Not just that but nuts, particularly, are a great protein food source.

Cold water fish are good if you want to be in a better mood. Wild salmon, herring, mackerel, trout, and tuna are all rich in omega-3 fats and DHA. Omega-3 fatty acids and DHA are two things that improve the quality and the function of your brain’s grey matter. It’s true: eating a tuna fish sandwich can really help you overcome depression.

Grains can be good for overcoming a terrible mood. Teff, barley, millet, quinoa, etc are all good for helping you feel better. They fill you up better and that can help you with your moods as well. Feeling starved can be awful! The reason these grains help your mood so much is that they are not difficult for your body to digest. They are easier to digest than other foods which helps raise your blood sugar levels and that, in turn, improves your mood.

Your mood can really be helped by green tea. You knew it had to be mentioned in this article, right? Green tea is rich in an amino acid called L-theanine. Studies prove that this specific amino acid can essentially induce brain waves. This will better your brain’s concentration while at the same loosening up the rest of your body. You were already aware that that green tea helps you become a lot healthier. And now you know it can help you be happier too!

As you can see, you don’t need to stuff your face with junk food when you are wanting to feel better! Try these hints instead!