Simmered sweet potato and azuki beans さつまいもとあずきの煮付け

Because our new grocery store had raw azuki beans, I made several dishes with them. Here is the first sort of savory dish which can be served as a vegetable side dish.

There is some confusion regarding sweet potato and yam especially in North America. As far as I can tell the ones available in North America, either white or orange varieties, are sweet potatoes. The orange variety are frequently referred to as "yams" which appears to be a misnomer. True "yams" are reportedly botanically different from sweet potatoes. In any case, the potato I bought for this dish is the orange variety and is similar to Japanese "satusma-imo".

I simply peeled and cut the sweet potatoes (3) into half inch thick half moon shaped pieces and simmered in dashi broth just enough to cover (I guess about 200ml. I took a shortcut and used instant granulated dashi). I tested for to see if they were done by piercing with a bamboo stick after 15-20 minutes. I seasoned them with mirin (2 tbs), soy sauce (3 tbs) and sugar (1 tbs) and further simmer for several minutes. I added slightly sweetened cooked azuki beans (if using canned cooked azuki, use the unsweetened variety) and let them warm up for another 4 minutes.

It is a bit sweet but very mildly so. The combination of slightly sweetened azuki beans and sweet poteto is excellent. Can this be a drinking snack? Possibly, but I have to say I would probably have something else with a drink.