Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Mayo and Maple Glaze
First, I want to be completely honest. I have not always loved sweet potatoes. I’ve cooked them plenty of times and enjoyed them but I have never really been like “man, these things are good!” But that all changed when I made these Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Mayo and Maple Glaze!
Bag of Natural Beauty Sweet PotatoAre there different types of sweet potatoes?Did you know there are at least 5 different types of sweet potatoes? I had no idea! I was lucky enough to cook with “Natural Beauty” Organic Oriental Sweet Potatoes, which were kindly donated by Goodness Greeness, an organic produce distributor in Chicago. They have tons of different varieties of local, seasonal and specialty products all of which are organic! They started in 1991 before organic was a household name and the only people who bought it were tree-huggers and hippies. Thanks for expanding my sweet potato knowledge Goodness Greeness!
What are Oriental Sweet Potatoes?
These sweet potatoes are special because they have purple skins and white flesh. Not at all what I expected when I cut this baby open. Besides being called “oriental sweet potatoes” there are two main varieties: Kotobuki and Murasaki. What makes them so special is they are much drier than the traditional “garnet” variety. I also found the flesh to be starchier which made it ideal for baking. It would also produce great fluffy mashed potatoes.
How do you make sweet potato fries?
The oven-baked fries are very simple to make. To make things easier I didn’t even peel the potatoes (they have that gorgeous purple color).
Cut a small slice off the bottom of the Japanese sweet potato so it can lay flat.
One quick tip: cut a small slice off the bottom of the potato. This will create a flat surface for your potato to rest on while you cut it. That way your potatoes aren’t rolling all over your cutting board while you’re handing a sharp blade.
After you slice the potatoes lengthwise, shack a few of the slices on top of each other, about 2-3 pieces. Next, you can cut the potatoes into 1/3-inch sticks. Don’t worry if they aren’t all the same size…just call them rustic.
Japanese sweet potato into "fries."One thing that is very important for this recipe is to use non-stick cooking spray. Usually, I would not be so insistent on using it however, the spray has the ability to coat every surface of the potato evenly. While oil does not cover the surface as easily.
Season heavily with salt and pepper. Bake these at a high temperature until golden brown.
How do you make sriracha mayo and maple glaze?Now for the second best part of this recipe. You get not only one, but TWO dipping sauces…and…they each only have two ingredients. Yeah, that’s right…count ’em two baby!
Sriracha mayo = mayo* + sriracha
Maple glaze sauce = mayo* + maple syrup
*feel free to use any mayo you like…light mayo, olive oil mayo, veganaise, etcThis is a welcome side dish to any lunch or dinner you may have. Or you can roll like me and just eat them entirely as your dinner. They really are that good.
Prep Time
15 min.
Cook Time
35 min.
Total Time
50 min.
Ingredients
3-4 large sweet Asian/Japanese sweet potatoes, sliced into 1/3″ sticks
non-stick cooking spray
4 tbsp light mayo (can substitute vegan mayo)
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp sriracha
Cooking instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with tin foil.
Cut potatoes into 1/3″ sticks
Line them neatly on the baking sheet making sure there is room in between the potatoes
Spray one side with non-stick cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper. Flip the fries over and spray the other side. Season again with salt and pepper.
Place in oven and bake on one side for 12-15 minutes, flip the fries over when golden brown and cook on the other side for 10-12 minutes or until brown and tender.
While the fries are cooking combine 2 tbsp light mayo and 1 tbsp maple syrup in a small bowl and set aside. Combine remaining 2 tbsp light mayo and sriracha in a small bowl and set aside.
