Baked ʻUala (Hawaiian Sweet Potato in the Embers)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Clean hardwood embers, charcoal kettle, or fire pit for the ember method
• •Heavy cast-iron skillet or rimmed sheet pan for the oven method
• •Long heatproof tongs
• •Stiff brush for clearing ash from the skins

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose the ʻuala

   Pick ʻuala that are close in size so they finish together, then scrub them clean and dry the skins well. Leave the skins on. That skin is the little oven each root carries for itself, holding the flesh while the outside chars and the sugars gather inside.

   Hawaiian ʻuala varieties are the first choice if you can get them. Okinawan purple sweet potatoes are a later Hawaiʻi favorite and welcome at the table too, just name what you're using.
2. 2

   Make clean embers

   For the ember way, burn clean hardwood or natural lump charcoal down to glowing coals with a soft gray ash over them. No treated wood, no lighter-fluid taste, no rubbish fire. If you're cooking in a kitchen, heat the oven to 425F and set a cast-iron skillet or heavy sheet pan inside to get hot.

3. 3

   Set the roots

   Nestle the whole ʻuala at the edge of the embers, not in the wildest center of the fire, and rake a light cover of ash and coals over them. For the oven method, rub the dried skins with the barest film of oil, set them on the hot pan, and leave space between each one. Same patience, different kitchen.

4. 4

   Bake until soft

   Cook the ʻuala 35 to 60 minutes, turning every 15 minutes in the embers, until the skins are blackened in places, the roots slump a little, and a skewer slides through with no fight. In the oven, bake 45 to 60 minutes, then give them 2 or 3 minutes under the broiler if you want more ember-char on the skin.

   Don't pull them when they are only knife-tender. Wait for the flesh to go heavy and yielding, with little beads of caramel showing at the cracks. That's the honey part.
5. 5

   Rest in leaf

   Brush off loose ash, then lay the ʻuala on ti leaves, lāʻī in Hawaiian, or banana leaves and let them sit 10 minutes. The rest lets the flesh settle and finish softening. No need fuss with it. The root already did the work.

6. 6

   Split and share

   Split the ʻuala lengthwise with a knife or just press them open with your fingers if the table is family. Finish with a pinch of paʻakai ʻalaea and, if you like, a little coconut oil or butter melting into the orange, cream, or purple flesh. Serve them whole and generous, skins and all if the char tastes good, peeled back if the blackened parts went bitter.

Chef Tips

• •Sourcing first. Buy firm, heavy ʻuala with skins that feel tight, not wrinkled. Small and medium roots bake sweeter and more evenly than big starchy ones.
• •Clean embers matter. Wood smoke from good fuel gives a quiet bitterness around the skin; chemical smoke gives you food that tastes like the wrong kind of fire.
• •If your ʻuala comes out dry, no blame the root first. Next time choose smaller ones, bake a little longer at a steadier heat, and rest them wrapped in leaf or a clean towel so the flesh relaxes.
• •Leftovers are not leftovers, they are tomorrow's breakfast. Slice cold baked ʻuala and pan-brown it with a little coconut oil, or tuck it next to eggs, rice, or plate lunch meat the way Hawaiʻi actually eats now.

Advance Preparation

• •Scrub the ʻuala up to 1 day ahead and let the skins dry uncovered in the refrigerator or on a towel; dry skins char better.
• •Cooked ʻuala keeps 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat whole in a 350F oven until soft again, or slice and pan-brown the pieces.
• •If an imu is already being tended for family food, ask the person tending the oven where the ʻuala belongs. The oven has its own order, and you don't crowd the deep work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 215g)