What Happened? All That Work and Suddenly It’s Gone!
![Sweet potato leaves](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Sweet_potato_leaves.jpg)
Most of the time spent on this vegetable was removing the tender parts from each stalk. After stir-frying for several minutes, the dish was on the table and quickly devoured!
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
I remember eating sweet potato leaves maybe once or twice in my life and both times were at a restaurant. When I saw them on sale at the supermarket, I had to grab a bag!
Inspiring Recipe
After searching for a recipe online, I found Yam Leaves, Stir-fried Sweet Potato Leaves from the blog, The Woks of Life. This is where I found recipes for some of my favorite dishes: braised oxtail, oxtail soup, and Chinese chives and eggs,
First Try
As with many stir-fried vegetables, the supplemental ingredients are already at home and it was true for this case.
Ingredients to Use
With 1.94 pounds of sweet potato stems with leaves, I increased the remaining ingredients on the default recipe to the following amounts:
- 2 ounces + 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1 1/8 teaspoons of oil
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 4 slices of ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon + 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1/2 tablespoon + 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 3 1/2 tablespoons + 1 1/4 teaspoons of water
- 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
Of all the ingredients, I made only one substitution based on availability. In place of the vegetable oil, I used avocado oil.
Also, to save some time, I didn’t chop the garlic nor julienne the ginger. Instead, I only smashed and sliced them, respectively.
Lastly, in terms of flavor, I chose to include the wine, though it was optional, and added salt until the leaves weren’t bland.
![Sesame oil, salt, oil, Shaoxing (Shaohsing) wine, sugar, sweet potato leaves, ginger, ground white pepper, and garlic](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Sweet_potato_leaves_ingredients.jpg)
Steps to Prepare
Though there were only three steps in preparing the sweet potato leaves, they didn’t go exactly as I had hoped. Below are some details:
- Step 1: Because I didn’t read the instructions thoroughly, I only pulled the leaves off when I could’ve pinched off other tender parts as well.
- Step 2: While heating up the oil, I didn’t wait long enough, so the garlic and ginger didn’t sizzle much when they were placed in the oil.
- Step 3: Since I had almost twice the amount of leaves than what was listed on the default recipe, I had to double the cooking time to four minutes before they were fully wilted.
![Smashed garlic and sliced ginger on a white plate](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Smashed_garlic_sliced_ginger.jpg)
Time to Eat
Converting the serving size on the recipe, the amount that I cooked should’ve been a little over 11 servings, but that’s not what it looked like:
![Bowl of sweet potato leaves](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Bowl_of_sweet_potato_leaves.jpg)
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
---|---|---|---|
1️⃣0️⃣* | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
Though there was barely enough for four people, the sweet potato leaves were soft and had a wonderful flavor. My husband even volunteered to prepare more, so I could cook another batch!
Second Try
For the second try, I didn’t want to waste any parts of the vegetable nor cook the leaves and stems in subpar oil temperature.
Ingredients to Use
Starting with 1.13 pounds of sweet potato stalks, I used less ingredient than before, as listed below:
- 3 tablespoons + 1 1/4 teaspoons of oil
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 slices of ginger
- 1 1/8 teaspoons of sesame oil
- 1 1/8 teaspoons of Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground white pepper
- 2 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of water
- 1/8 teaspoon of sugar
All the other details pertaining to the ingredients were the same as the first time.
Steps to Prepare
For the process during the second attempt, I did the following:
- Step 1: Plucked all the soft edible pieces from the sweet potato stalks.
- Step 2: Waited patiently until the oil looked hot before adding the garlic and ginger.
- Step 3: Cooked the leaves for a couple of minutes, as noted on the recipe, which was enough for them to fully wilt.
Time to Eat
Again, after the sweet potato leaves were cooked, only a small pile made it to the dinner table.
![Plate of sweet potato leaves](https://undumbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Plate_of_sweet_potato_leaves.jpg)
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
---|---|---|---|
1️⃣0️⃣* | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
Like before, these leaves disappeared quickly. Even my older son, who’s favorite food is seldomly a vegetable, said that they were good.
Since we want more of a good thing, the next time I make this dish, I would do the following:
Continuous Improvement
- Buy 2-3 pounds of sweet potato leaves for one meal.
Making this simple stir-fried vegetable taught me that my younger self should do the following:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Learn how to spot when oil is hot enough to cook with. (The article, How to Become a Cook Who Really Understands Heat and Oil, from The Kitchn, a food site made by home cooks, is one place to start.)
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the Yam Leaves, Stir-fried Sweet Potato Leaves recipe from the blog, The Woks of Life?
- Share your favorite recipe for sweet potato leaves?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)