DIY yakiimo at home

One of my most-loved things about the autumn season in Japan is the prevalence of all things sweet potato, and you can get them baked and ready to eat at a number of places. They roast them on hot stones at my local farmer's market and some supermarkets, but I find it easy enough to get the same effect using my fish grill at home.

What you'll need:

• Sweet potatoes -- it might seem obvious but I recommend picking medium sized ones. I've bought ones that were too large before and they didn't fit in the fish grill, and other times I've bought ones that were smaller and they got too dry during the cooking process. Middle of the road is what you want!
• Aluminium foil
• A pair of tongs or oven mitts

Step-by-step

First, wash off the sweet potatoes, but keep the skin on. Preheat your fish grill for about 5 minutes, and while you're waiting for it to heat up you can wrap your sweet potatoes in foil. Pop them in (we can usually only fit 1-2 at a time depending on their size), and let them cook for about 30 minutes. I recommend flipping them half-way through so both sides cook well enough. I typically grab my tongs after the cooking time is up and give the potato a little squeeze to see if it feels soft enough. If it's still not soft enough after the 30 minutes, you can let it cook for a little longer.

Let them cool a bit before digging in, otherwise you run the risk of burning the roof of your mouth ;) we typically batch cook these and leave cooked ones in the fridge to either eat cold later or microwave if we want it warm. Also, sweet potatoes are great for dogs, too, so if you have a canine companion you can always add some as a "topper" to your dog's regular food.