Fried Yam
Thick slices of yam parboiled in salted water and fried until golden and crisp outside, soft within.
Photograph credit: Fried Yam 1 by Umuhiera · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Salt the water. That short, sharp instruction is the whole difference between bland fried yam and the good kind, because the yam takes up flavour from the cooking water and the frying cannot supply it later.
Peel the yam with a sharp knife, then cut it into thick slices or batons about 2 cm across. Rinse off the sticky starch under cold water. Do not boil it until soft. It should still hold firm when pierced, about 5 minutes, or it falls apart in the oil.
Drain the yam and pat it very dry. Water on the surface makes the oil spit and the yam steam rather than crisp. Fry in batches, so the pieces do not touch.
Golden brown outside and soft and starchy inside, fried yam is eaten with a pepper sauce or an egg sauce. A sprinkle of salt over the top while still hot finishes it.
How to Make Fried Yam
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Boil the yam in the water with half the salt for 5 minutes until just firm. Drain and pat very dry.
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Heat the oil in a deep pan until a piece of yam sizzles at once.
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Fry the yam in batches for 5 minutes each, turning, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with the rest of the salt.
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Mix the tomato, onion and chilli into a quick relish and serve alongside.
Tips That Matter
- Rinse the cut yam to remove sticky starch.
- Parboil only until firm.
- Pat the pieces very dry before frying.
- Fry in small batches to keep the oil hot.
Common Substitutions & Variations
- Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
Pairs Well With
Pepper sauce · Egg sauce · Fried fish · Tomato relish
Leftovers and Storage
Best eaten straight away, while crisp.
The Numbers per Serving
No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (how much frying oil the food takes up cannot be known from the recipe). Why some recipes have none.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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