Introduced to Japan in the 16th century, satsumaimo (sweet potatoes) is a reddish-purple vegetable that delights your palate with its sweet, yellow flesh. You can enjoy satsumaimo in these 5 ways:

Satsumaimo's earthy fragrance makes it yummy simply steamed. Pair it with boiled carrots seasoned with salt, sugar and butter and douse mayonnaise all over it to derive a creamy divineness!

A good source of dietary fibre, satsumaimo keeps you feeling full for a long time. Try it in gratin form: mix pumpkin and satsumaimo cubes with milk and butter, add cottage cheese and Parmigiano cheese and bake the resulting mixture. Your taste buds will surely appreciate the flavorful sensation.

This is a specialty dessert hailing from Shizuoka. It is highly recommended as a souvenir, for it tastes even sweeter than ordinary satsumaimo, and for unagi (sea eel) is used to grow the sweet potatoes!

Eat ikinari dango (easy-to-made dumplings), a signature Kumamoto delicacy with relish. They contain sweet potato chunks richly infused with red bean paste, so they make for a hearty feast!

Called suito poteto in Japan, this delightful dessert is made by stuffing satsumaimo mashed with butter, eggs, sugar, milk and cinnamon into a small tartlet dish and baking it until it turns brown on top. Taste-wise, it resembles an American pumpkin pie filling, so try it out for yourself!