This crunchy and toasty Sautéed Yam absorbs the flavors from soy sauce being charred in the pan. Inspired by the Japanese drama, Midnight Diner.
Have you tried Sautéed Yam before? The recipe was featured on the popular Japanese TV program called Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂) or ’Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories‘ now available on Netflix. The show features Japanese dishes that are more representative of home-cooked recipes than Japanese Restaurant menu items in the US.
Since the drama doesn’t provide detailed ingredients and step by step instructions, I started to share these copycat recipes on my blog. Today’s recipe – sautéed yam (長芋のソテー) was featured in Season 1, Episode 8.
What is Nagaimo?
First thing first. You probably wonder what type of yam is being used in this recipe. It is not the sweet potato “yam” you might be thinking of. If you’re not sure what’s the difference between a yam and a sweet potato, this article might be helpful. So this particular yam used in this recipe is called Nagaimo (長芋) and it looks like this.
Sounds or looks familiar? You might have researched this ingredient for Okonomiyaki recipe because grated nagaimo in the Okonomiyaki batter is important for the fluffy texture. Also, if you have traveled in Japan, you might have tried Tororo Gohan (とろろご飯). That white gooey and slimy thing on top of rice, that’s also grated nagaimo.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
To be honest, I was quite surprised at how delicious this simple dish was. If it wasn’t for Midnight Diner inspiring me to recreate the recipes from the show, I probably wouldn’t have come up with a dish like this using nagaimo. I used to only buy nagaimo for making Okonomiyaki and hadn’t made any other nagaimo recipes that my mom used to make for us when growing up. In short, I’m not a fan of nagaimo by itself.
So, this dish was a total surprise for me (in a good way). I want to emphasize that if you look at the ingredient list, you see only four ingredients. Besides nagaimo, you only use olive oil, salt, and soy sauce. I was delighted and totally awed by the deliciousness of this dish with my not-so-favorite nagaimo.
I think the key “yum” factors come from 3 parts: 1) a nice crunchiness from nagaimo, 2) burnt/charred soy sauce flavors, and 3) the right amount of saltiness that brings bland nagaimo to the next level.
I know it’s hard to convince people to enjoy nagaimo, so I pray that my photographs of this simple dish did it justice. The lighting on this day was perfect so I am really happy with the way the pictures turned out. I hope that these sauteed yam looks delicious enough for you to give it a try!
Can’t Find Nagaimo?
Lastly, if you can’t get nagaimo where you live, it’s really difficult to substitute ingredients for it. I cannot recommend using potatoes or other root vegetables as a replacement. Nagaimo cooks very quickly compared to other thick root vegetables and has a unique texture unlike anything else.
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Sauteed Yam
Ingredients
- 2½ inches nagaimo/yamaimo (mountain yam)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- mizuna (Japanese mustard green) (for serving; optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Peel and slice 2½ inches nagaimo/yamaimo (mountain yam) ½ inch (1.3 cm) thick. Some of you may feel itchy by touching nagaimo. If you‘re not sure, wear kitchen gloves to protect your skin. Once you peel, nagaimo gets very slimy, so be careful.
- Heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan and sprinkle ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Put the nagaimo slices in the pan and sauté for 3–4 minutes on medium heat. When it has a nice char on the bottom, flip and cook for another 3–4 minutes.
- Add 2 tsp soy sauce. Quickly lift up the frying pan and swirl the nagaimo in the frying pan so that the nagaimo will be evenly coated with soy sauce. Moving around the nagaimo prevents it from getting burnt. It might splatter a little bit, so be careful. This creates delicious flavors.
- When the sauce gets thicken and the nagaimo has a nice char, turn off the heat and serve. Just like in the Midnight Diner episode, I serve this dish with mizuna (Japanese mustard green).
Cooked it up; it’s a really quick dish to make. In terms of flavor depth, it’s a simple few notes of char and salt from the soy sauce. On its own, it’s a very palatable dish and quite addictive. I would probably experiment more with adding mirin, ginger, and sesame oil, but as the recipe stands, it’s a quick snack that’s simple and easy to eat!
For tips on peeling with a vegetable peeler, I peeled only around 90% of the skin off while holding the edge with skin on, then slicing the peeled part without worry of slipping. Then I peel the last 10% in a forward rotating motion to maintain control of the nagaimo until the very end and slice it up carefully!
Hello, Amanda! Thank you for trying Nami’s dish and sharing your experiences with us!
Additional ginger or sesame oil sounds fantastic! We hope you continue to enjoy experimenting with this recipe. Happy cooking!🤗
What a great idea to sautéed mountain potatoes! I will do that and serve as an appetizer for guests. Thank you so much!
Hello there! Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe!
We hope your guests enjoy this dish. Happy Cooking!
I made this after having leftover nagaimo after making batter for okonomiyaki. It was delicious. I fried it too long so it wasn’t very crunchy, but still good. Thanks.
Hi Katherine! Aww. Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipes!🥰
We are glad to hear you enjoyed it. Happy Cooking!
I’m really glad to see you have a recipe for nagaimo because I bought some by mistake, thinking it was burdock. My nagaimo is much skinnier than yours (probably why I thought it was burdock). Should I slice it the same way? I’ll end up with a lot more pieces, but smaller ones.
Hi, Elizabeth! You can slice in the same direction or diagonally to increase the surface area.
We hope you’ll love Nami’s recipe! Happy cooking!
Great recipe! Super tasty and savory, like fried potatoes.
Hi Jenny! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe!
We are happy to hear you enjoyed the dish. Happy Cooking!
This was wonderful! I was skeptical, as you anticipated, but so pleasantly surprised. I was gifted some nagaimo, and was at a completely loss for what to make that wasn’t okonomiyaki. I found this didn’t need the extra salt, but maybe my soy sauce is just strong. Definitely making this again!
Hi Kristen! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us!
We are glad to hear you enjoyed Sauteed Yam! Happy Cooking!
I fell in love with Midnight Diner after discovering it by accident on Netflix one day. I was so enticed by the ‘sort of’ directions given for a recipe at the end of an episode but it was never enough to try to recreate.
And then I happened upon your page, a couple of years now since I saw the show, and was delighted to see you’ve included your versions of some of the elusive recipes! Thank you! I haven’t tried any yet but I am excited to go shopping at our local Japanese market or large Asian market for ingredients for many of the recipes on your website.
Thank you for making them feel accessible! Eggplant, nagaimo, chiso leaves (my neighbor grows them), umeboshi, kanten – we were macrobiotic for years a long time ago so many of these foods are heartwarmingly familiar and others we know just from beloved Japanese restaurants.
And now, we can achieve them at home with your excellent instructions.
Many thanks!
Hi Cee! We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you!
Thank you very much for your kind feedback! 😊
This was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Golden, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are glad to hear it was delicious!😊
Love midnight diner and it is what brought me her to try some of the recipes and all the wonderful recipes just wanted yo to know I’ve made this recipe and it was delicious I also found a root vegetable substitute called Jicama or Mexican potatoe or sometimes referred to as a yam bean
Hi Daniel, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We don’t think we have tried Jicama or Mexican potato before. We can’t wait to try it! Thank you for sharing your cooking experience with us!
I didnt measure things so it was too salty BUT, it was still so delicious!! Thank you for this great recipe.
Hi Charylie! Thank you so much for your feedback! Next time, use less salt/soy sauce. 🙂
I used the white ‘korean yam’ instead of nagaimo( hard to find especially during corona). I washed and soaked in water after slicing into 1/2 inch pieces, dried off, and then tossed them with potato starch. Then the same as here just longer fry time, almost double, finish with soy sauce. not sure how it compares to nagaimo but i got the outside to be crunchy and inside soft 🙂 it was good.
Hi Jerri! I had never tried Korean Yam but I’m curious! If I see it in the store next time I go shopping (after the current situation), I’ll check it out! 🙂
Omg I just made this and it is a-MAY-zing- will definitely do again
Hi Liz! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Nami san,
Would you recommend serving this side dish with spinach side dish & a daikon aburaage miso soup?
Would it last a couple of days in the fridge?
Hi Ima! This tastes the best after sauteeing/cooking. But you can save for maybe up to 2 days? Do you serve this as a main dish? Then I’d serve with miso soup and a spinach side dish (both). 🙂