Oven-roasted sweet potato is balanced with a sharp lime dressing, fragrant herbs, and crispy shallots with peanuts. A colourful vegetable side dish with a balance of sweet, sour, spicy, and savoury flavours.
This is a contemporary vegetable dish with flavours reminiscent of Vietnamese dressings, not a traditional Vietnamese classic. The sweet potato turns soft and almost creamy inside, while the hot oven gives the cut sides a deep colour. Lime and fish sauce provide a fresh, salty counterpoint to the sweet wedges; a little sugar rounds out the dressing without making it sweet. Chilli adds warmth, but it shouldn’t overpower the other flavours. So taste the dressing before serving and adjust the amount of chilli to your liking.
Give the wedges plenty of room on the baking sheet. If they’re too close together, they release moisture and steam rather than roast. A thin coating of oil helps the outsides brown; turn the wedges halfway through so several sides make contact with the hot tray. Sweet potatoes are usually available year-round in Dutch shops. Choose firm ones that are about the same thickness, so the pieces cook at the same time. You can leave the skin on: scrub the potatoes well and cut away any damaged spots.
Coriander and mint add fresh, familiar notes; rau ram, also sold as Vietnamese coriander, brings a more distinctive herbal flavour. Rau ram is available at some Asian shops. If you can’t find it, use extra coriander and mint. The dressing also works without fish sauce: soy sauce is an alternative, although the flavour will be different and less distinctly fish-sauce-like. Thinly sliced red chilli can be replaced with chilli flakes. The fried shallots and roasted peanuts are more than just a garnish here: their dry, salty crunch contrasts with the soft potato and juicy herbs.
Serve the platter as a side dish with rice and grilled tofu, fish, or chicken, or alongside other vegetable dishes for a meal to share. Spoon the dressing over just before eating; this keeps the herbs fresh and the shallots crispy. Store leftovers covered in the fridge and use within two days. The potato will soften after chilling, and the herbs will lose their fresh texture. If you store the components separately, you can reheat the potato on a baking sheet in an oven at 200 °C until piping hot, then add the fresh herbs, peanuts, and shallots.
Preheat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scrub the sweet potatoes clean and cut them into wedges about 2 cm thick. Toss with 1½ tablespoons of oil and the salt. Spread them out on the baking sheet, leaving space between them.
Roast the wedges for 30–35 minutes. Turn them halfway through; they’re ready when soft inside and deeply browned around the edges.
Meanwhile, heat 100 ml oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Fry the shallot rings for 6–10 minutes until golden and crispy; stir regularly and remove them as soon as they colour. Drain on paper towels. Let the oil cool before storing or discarding it.
Stir the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and water together in a small bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in the finely chopped chilli.
Loosely combine the coriander, mint, and rau ram. Arrange the warm sweet potato on a platter and spoon the dressing over it. Scatter the herbs, crispy shallots, and peanuts over the top just before serving.
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