Imo Yokan

Yokan is a variety of wagashi. Originally, Yokan is a thick jellied dessert that is made from read bean paste, agar, and sugar. Though Yokan had been famous in Japan for a long time, originally it was a chinese snack. In chinese, the word “Yokan” is translated as Yang Geng, meaning “sheep broth”. It was because the main ingredient which was gelatin was made from cooled and congeal sheep broth. There is a rumor that in the fifth century in ancient China, a high ranked general started a war against his own country because he refused a bowl of Yang Geng.

This dessert was introduced to Japan in the 12th century by Buddhist monks, because they were only allowed to eat vegetarian food they had to find a way so that they can eat the sheep broth. They replaced the Yang Geng with a dark colored broth made from red bean soup and mixed it with agar which is a seaweed substance that turns into jelly when boiled. The result was an original Yokan from Japanese, made with red bean paste. There are 2 types of okan, mizu yokan and neri yokan. The only difference between the two is that mizu yokan is softer. There are many varieties of yokan
Chak Yokan = A yokan made with green tea
Kuri Yokan = A yokan made with steamed chestnuts
Yoru no Ume = A yokan made with dainagon beans
Imo Yokan = A yokan made from satsumaimo sweet potato

Wagashi originated from the Yayoi Era around B.C 300 - A.C 300, at those times wagashi is no more than natural fruits, berries, and nuts.
China greatly influenced the Japanese with the grain processing skills and the Buddhist culture introduced during the Nara Era (A.C 710 - 784), then people started to make Mochi and Dango (another type of rice cake). However, at that time, they were used for religious purposes and were considered exclusive by average person. The basic forms of wagashi today are from that era.
During the late Muromachi Era (A.C 1336-1573), foreign trade happened in Japan. The trade with Portugal and Spain influenced the making of wagashi because of new recipes and ingredients from those country. The introduction of sugar changed the formula for sweetness.
In the early Edo Period (A.C 1603-1867), the wagashi trade was experiencing great development in Kyoto, Edo, and other regions. Average people started to enjoy them. Wagashi started to be used in tea ceremonies, afternoon snacks, and gifts.
During the Meiji Era (A.C 1868-1912), Western cakes and desserts started to entered Japan and they greatly influenced the development of Wagashi.
During the last part of Taisho Era, the word “Wagashi” was used to name the Japanese confectionaries in order to differentiate them from the Western ones.

Throughout the centuries, Wagashis have been influenced by foreign culture but they have always contain the sense of Japanese art. Wagashi is a very important part of Japanese culture and it will grows as new skills come along.

Material
Satsumaimo sweet potatoes
Sugar
Agar-agar (kanten) powder
Water
Equipment
Spoon
Knife
Saucepan
Cup
Stove
Strainer
Rectangular containers
Skills
The skills needed to make imo yokan is peeling, cutting, boiling, stirring, and mixing. The recipe of imo yokan is simple but a lot of simple skills are needed to make this dessert. Peeling the sweet potato has to be done quickly because this sweet potato easily turns black. Cutting has to be done with extra strength because the sweet potato is hard before it’s being boiled. Boiling is normal but be sure to add enough water to cover the sweet potato so that all part of it will be soft. Make sure not to turn off the heat before the sweet potato softened. Stirring is being done normally when we stir the agar but be sure to keep stirring so that it will dissolve. Mixing is needed twice, first is to mix the sugar and the mashed sweet potato and second when mixing the water and the mashed sweet potato. It has to be done quite long so that sugar will completely mixed with the sweet potato and so that the sweet potato fuse with the agar water. This way, the result will be nice with a yellow imo yokan.