Wonderfully sweet, this side dish is the Japanese equivalent of butter-glazed carrots. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: Butternut or other winter squash or carrots.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 pound yam or sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

　　2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon good-quality soy sauce

　　1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon mirin or 2 tablespoons honey

　　1 tablespoon sugar

　　

Step 1

Combine the yam, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1/4 cup mirin, and sugar in a small saucepan with about 1/2 cup water. Cover and cook over medium heat until the yam is tender, about 15 minutes, adding a little more water if necessary.

　　

Step 2

Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the yam pieces are glazed and the mixture is almost dry. Add the remaining teaspoon of soy sauce and mirin, cook for another 5 seconds, and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.