Steps

1. Thoroughly wash the sweet potato.
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2. Trim the ends of the sweet potato and cut into bite-sized, irregular pieces.
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3. Prepare a saltwater solution (about 3% salt concentration) in a bowl and soak the cut sweet potato for 10 minutes. (Key Tip! Soaking in saltwater removes bitterness and prevents a powdery texture. This technique can be applied to other sweet potato dishes.)
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4. After 10 minutes, remove the sweet potato from the saltwater and drain in a colander.
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5. Thoroughly pat the sweet potato dry with paper towels. (Key Tip! Drying thoroughly prevents oil splatter, ensuring safe frying.)
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6. Place the dried sweet potato in a frying pot and add enough vegetable oil to submerge the sweet potatoes. (Key Tip! Frying slowly at low temperature enhances the sweetness of the sweet potato, so add the oil later and heat slowly.)
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7. Start heating over medium heat, gradually increasing the oil temperature to 160°C (320°F) and fry slowly. (Key Tip! Root vegetables take time to cook through, so heat patiently from a low temperature. For a deeper flavor, you can add lard or rendered meat fat from previous frying to the vegetable oil.)
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8. Once a skewer can be inserted smoothly, briefly increase the heat to high and fry the sweet potato while exposing it to air. (Key Tip! The final blast of high heat and exposure to air drains excess oil and creates a crispy texture.)
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9. Once golden brown, transfer to a rack and drain the excess oil.
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10. In a frying pan, combine [A] Sugar 6 tbsp, [A] Water 3 tbsp, and [A] Soy sauce 1 tbsp, and heat over medium heat.
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11. The sugar will dissolve and bubble. Cook until the syrup thickens to a point where you can see the bottom of the pan for about 1 second when you run a spatula through it. Turn off the heat. (Key Tip! Be careful not to burn and adjust the heat. Avoid overcooking so it doesn't become too hard.)
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12. Add the fried sweet potato to the syrup in the pan and quickly toss over low heat to coat. (Key Tip! The ideal result is syrup evenly coating everything with almost no syrup left in the pan.)
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13. Spread the syrup-coated candied sweet potato on a tray, arranging them in a single layer so they don't overlap. (Key Tip! The syrup will harden as it cools, so spread them out to prevent sticking.)
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14. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds (to taste). (Key Tip! For an enhanced flavor, you can sprinkle a small amount of ichimi chili pepper at the end.)
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15. Transfer to a serving dish.
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