Mứt khoai lang dẻo is soft candied sweet potato, one of the mứt (candied fruits and vegetables) put out for visitors during Tết, the Lunar New Year. You can buy it at Asian markets, especially Vietnamese ones, but making it yourself lets you set the sweetness to your own taste. Plan ahead: the slices soak for 3–4 hours in lime water and then another 3–4 hours in sugar before they’re cooked. Ingredients 3 sweet potatoes (500 g) 150 g sugar, more or less to taste 10 g calcium hydroxide (vôi tôi) 1 teaspoon salt 2 litres cold water, plus more for soaking and rinsing How to make mứt khoai lang dẻo 1. Peel, salt-soak and slice Peel the sweet potatoes and soak them for 15–20 minutes in cold water with the teaspoon of salt. Slice them into thin rounds, and keep the slices in cold water until you’re ready for the next step. 2. Soak in lime water Mix the calcium hydroxide into 2 litres of cold water. Soak the slices in it for 3–4 hours, and no longer: left too long, the sweet potato turns hard. Then rinse the slices in cold water. 3. Steep in sugar Put the slices in a basket and pour the sugar over them slowly. Leave them until all the sugar has dissolved, 3–4 hours. Shake the basket gently every so often so every slice absorbs the sugar. The original recipe calls this one of the important steps. 4. Cook it dry Tip everything, slices and syrup, into a pan and cook over low heat for 20–30 minutes, stirring now and then with chopsticks. When the syrup has almost gone and starts to dry on the surface of the slices, keep stirring until the sugar has dried completely. Turn off the heat. 5. Dry and store Spread the slices out on a basket and leave them to dry, then pack them into a jar. Bring them out when visitors come over for Tết. Share:
