As part of my Osechi Ryori Recipe Series (traditional Japanese New Year Food), I am bringing you a popular dish called Kuri Kinton or Candied Chestnuts with Sweet Potatoes. This auspicious item is smooth, creamy, slightly nutty with a bright, golden yellow color. It certainly adds a touch of elegance to the New Year’s feast.
What is Kuri Kinton
Kurikinton (栗金団), literary “chestnut gold mash,” symbolizes economic fortune and wealth. Made of mashed sweet potatoes and chestnuts in syrup, kuri kinton is an important dish to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year. Kuri kinton is on the sweet side, but it is not considered a dessert in Japanese cuisine. You’ll find most traditional osechi ryori dishes are seasoned more heavily with vinegar and sugar so the food are preserved and store well for several days for the New Year. That said, you can always adjust the sweetness to your liking.
2 Important Ingredients to Make Kuri Kinton
1. Candied Chestnuts
You can make candied chestnuts from scratch by peeling the chestnuts (this alone takes hours!), cooking them till tender, and preserving them in syrup. But that’s not something most of us have the time to do. So I use this jar of chestnuts in heavy syrup called kuri kanroni (栗甘露煮) for my Kuri Kinton recipe. Kuri kanroni is commonly used in making wagashi, Japanese sweets, such as yokan or manju.
2. Japanese Sweet Potatoes
For kuri kinton, please use only Japanese sweet potatoes called satsumaimo (さつまいも), and not any other types of sweet potatoes. Japanese sweet potatoes are known for its starchy texture and intensely sweet flavor, which makes them an ideal choice for desserts such as Japanese Sweet Potato, Daigaku Imo, and Sweet Potato Pie. You can easily find them at mainstream grocery stores or local farmers in the US these days. Learn more about Japanese sweet potatoes on my pantry page. Both chestnuts and sweet potatoes are signature winter harvests and the epitome of Japanese New Year festivities. You cannot miss it when making osechi for the family!
More Osechi Ryori Dishes
7 Popular Side Dishes & Desserts to Serve with Osechi Ryori Kuromame (Sweet Black Soybeans) Chikuzenni (Simmered Chicken and Vegetables) Tataki Gobo (Pounded Burdock Root with Sesame Sauce)
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