Air Fryer Japanese Candied Sweet Potato (Daigaku Imo)

This air fryer candied sweet potato is a perfect snack for a chilly day. In Japanese, this dish is called daigaku imo. Normally, daigaku imo is deep fried, which, of course, is heavenly. There are also some daigaku imo recipes that allow for a hack to get out of deep frying, by steaming and frying over the stovetop. But THIS recipe is the hack of all sweet potato hacks, using the beloved air fryer. You still get that super crispy exterior to the sweet potato with minimal mess AND cook time. So bust out your air fryers and give this Japanese candied sweet potato a try.

What is Daigaku Imo?

Forget chestnuts roasting on an open fire – as soon as temperatures drop, I’m all about sweet potatoes fried and covered in sticky sweet goodness. Daigaku imo is a Japanese snack made from deep fried sweet potato and covered in a caramelized sugar syrup. The name literally translates to “college potato,” I guess as it originated as cheap snack for college students.

I went to college in San Diego, so I guess my version of daigaku imo is carne asada fries. *drool*

Anyway, sweet potatoes are kind of a big deal in Japan. There are whole children’s songs dedicated to roasted potatoes. And every year, my kids’ Japanese daycare does a big potato digging harvest event. To be honest, being born and raised in America, I don’t think I fully grasp the concept of why potato digging is a thing, but it seems to be something about potatoes signifying the fall harvest.

And if you didn’t know, fall harvest is a BIG DEAL in many Asian countries. Check out my mid-autumn festival post for more info on that.

Making Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes

So anyhow, if you’ve been following my blog for the past few months, you know that I’ve become obsessed with my air fryer. It’s amazing! So much crispiness! So little oil! And so fast! Here’s a shameless plug for the kind of air fryer I have in an affiliate link.

While nothing can beat the taste of deep frying a sweet potato, at home I just don’t want to deal, especially when it’s for a snack or side. And while some deep fried recipes don’t translate easily to oil-less methods, this Japanese candied sweet potato is PERFECT for air frying. The sweet potato is cut into small cubes, so it cooks really fast and gets super crispy. Plus, because you cover it in a sweet syrup, you still get loads of flavor.

Candied Sweet Potato Syrup

While your sweet potatoes are air frying, you’ll want to whip up your caramelized sugar syrup. Normally, the words “caramelized sugar” strike fear into the hearts of home cooks. But do not worry! This sugar syrup is easy and (if you follow directions) foolproof. My ingredient list calls for mirin, but if you don’t have it you can substitute water.

Now, normally when you cook sugar on the stovetop and try to caramelize it, it can get pretty sticky and potentially prone to burning. Some tricks to help you: when you see your syrup get frothy and bubble up, that’s when you can turn off the heat. The addition of butter in the syrup, which is not super traditional, will help keep it from hardening too much. When it cools, it’ll still have the flow of a sauce rather than turning into a lollipop, which is sometimes what happens when you cook sugar too long. Because this is a small amount of sugar, though, it will also cook fast, so make sure to keep an eye on it.

And that’s all you need to know! It’s so easy and so comforting. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!