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Ishiyaki imo

If you are living or visiting Japan, every now and then you may hear a recorded tune with someone singing “ya-ki imo, ishiyaki imo” meaning sweet potato baked over hot stones.

This sound, you will find, most likely originates from the megaphone of a small truck slowly driving around the streets selling these sweet potatoes during the autumn season.

Ishiyaki imo truck vendors have been around in the streets of Japan for more than 100 years since their hand-pulled two-wheeled trolley days but now because you can find these yaki-imo in your average supermarket and convenience store the numbers have greatly decreased.

The secret to bringing out the perfect amount of sweetness in these sweet potatoes is first to use sweet potatoes that have been set aside for 3 weeks to a month since they were picked and baking it slowly in a thick-walled cast iron oven or pot between 65 to 85 degrees.