The simplicity of old-fashioned food is a delicacy in character.
Do you believe that old-school things are easier to miss and look for? The taste of luxurious food does amaze us, but the simple one that comes from past recipes will actually make us pleasantly surprised, happy, and grateful. We can still taste the food that came from the past, for example when we were little.
I still remember how my sister and I used to boil sweet potatoes, with firewood. We sat in front of the firebox while warming our bodies. Also while doing other work, preparing other food ingredients.
We live simply, making meals without much addition. But that's exactly where we learned to bring out the flavor of something, without adding too many ingredients. It's like serving boiled sweet potatoes that don't need anything extra.
Even without any additions, boiled sweet potatoes are still delicious! I'm sure it's because the quality of the sweet potato is really good so it accentuates the best taste.
I have a supply of sweet potatoes, a gift from my aunt that came the other day. This is an imported product that I have never eaten before. This product is only sold in the modern market.
I know this product is of good quality which is worth trying. So I will serve the sweet potatoes in an old-fashioned style, focusing on the sweet potatoes themselves without adding a lot of ingredients.
Boiled Sweet Potato Served With Grated Coconut
Some versions of old-fashioned boiled sweet potatoes do not use grated coconut. But in our family there are lots of coconuts, we used to have coconut trees that are low, and easy to get coconuts. So we often use grated coconut.
As in the version that I share this time, using grated coconut. I prepared the grated coconut starting by peeling the coconut, removing the hard coconut shell, to grating the coconut.
Well, preparing the coconut to be grated is the most energy-consuming thing. Luckily, I've gotten used to it, though my hands are now feeling rough. But that is the sacrifice of someone who prepares food in the kitchen for the family members.
Before peeling the coconut, I prepare the sweet potatoes so that later I can save time.
Boiling Sweet Potatoes
After washing the sweet potatoes, put them in a pan. Boil in salt water. Add salt to taste about 2 tablespoons, for 500 grams of sweet potatoes.
Here I boil sweet potatoes for about 35 minutes. While waiting for the sweet potatoes to be boiled, I prepared the coconut.
Preparing the Coconut
Outside the house, there is no sunlight when I peel the coconut. So I just photographed the coconut peeling process in my kitchen.
A coconut that I will peel is still green, but mature enough for the coconut flesh to be grated to complement boiled sweet potatoes.
If the outer color is blackish brown to gray, then the coconut is old and more suitable to be used as coconut milk, because it will produce coconut milk that is thick and has a more fragrant aroma than coconut that is not too old (like coconut I am currently using, currently not very old).
I used a machete. To be honest it's quite heavy and enough to make my hands feel sore. But I consider it a weightlifting exercise for my hands. Of course like that!
First, I need to cut off the ends of the coconut. Once the ends of the coconut are cut off, it will make it easier for my next step to peel off the stringy inner skin of the coconut.
The next step is I make an incision on the outer part of the coconut so that I can peel the fibrous skin completely. The fibrous part of the coconut skin is very thick. This is so that the inside of the coconut does not break even if it is lowered from the height of the coconut tree to the ground.
After I finished peeling the fibrous skin, I saw the shape of a whole coconut with a hard shell. I had to break the shell with a machete so I could take the coconut flesh to grate.
My traditional grater which has an iron eye is now broken. So I had to crack the coconut hard shell.
I managed to crack the hard coconut shell. Although not in its entirety. Halfway through the process, the coconut flesh cracked so I had to get the coconut water out immediately.
A big ant immediately rushed to me approach the glass that has been filled with coconut water. Tastes so sweet! Usually, I keep this coconut water in the refrigerator to drink during the day.
Here are some pieces of coconut flesh that are ready to be grated. Then I grate the coconut with a grater which is usually used as a cheese grater.
I happened to finish grating the coconut when the sweet potatoes were boiled. So next I just need to serve them all together.
Serving Time
After the sweet potatoes are cooked, drain them from the water. Use a napkin to drain them.
Next, I sprinkle salt on the grated coconut to bring out the sweetness of the grated coconut. Just a pinch of salt. Use salt with the finest grains so it doesn't clump on the grated coconut.
Peel the sweet potatoes by making thin slices on the skin. Then rub the skin gently so that the outer skin will be peeled off.
Finish peeling boiled sweet potatoes, and serve with savory grated coconut. I really like the texture of these types of sweet potatoes. Soft but still a bit hard so it doesn't get boring when chewed.
Even without grated coconut, the taste of boiled sweet potatoes is good. But with grated coconut, it feels more savory. For the best taste, use coconut that is in its middle age. Not too old nor too young. Mistakes in choosing coconut will actually make boiled sweet potatoes lose their best taste, otherwise, their taste will be weird.
Have you ever enjoyed boiled or steamed sweet potatoes? Maybe on the outskirts of a village, or in a cold mountain area. It would be perfect for serving sweet potatoes that are warm, sweet, and savory at the same time!
Thank you for reading my blog and reblog if you want my blog this time worthy of reading by others.
All pictures were taken using iPhone 11.
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009