This item
Sweet Potato
- tuber commonly tapers at both ends
- skin is usually smoother than taro
- skin and flesh colours vary by variety
Vegetables
Sweet Potato
Sweet Potato is a market group of tapered storage roots whose skin and flesh colours vary by variety.
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3 identity clues
- tuber commonly tapers at both ends
- skin is usually smoother than taro
- skin and flesh colours vary by variety
Names in other languages
- 繁體中文
- 番薯
- English
- Sweet Potato
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Ubi jalar
- Tagalog
- Kamote
Name in Cantonese (Jyutping): faan1 syu4 No Cantonese voice on this device
What is it?
Sweet Potato is a market group of tapered storage roots whose skin and flesh colours vary by variety. This page follows the authoritative HK-market name and identification scope.
How to identify it
Look for a tapered tuber with relatively smooth skin; purple, yellow or orange is not a universal rule.
Common confusion
Compare
Taro
- brown fibrous outer skin
- ring marks around the corm
- pale cut flesh may carry fine purple flecks
Compare
Potato
- An oval brown-skinned potato tuber with shallow eyes and pale starchy flesh.
- Look for a firm tuber, thin tan-brown skin and scattered shallow eyes.
- Potato has distinct eyes and pale starchy flesh; sweet potato is often tapered and differently coloured inside.
How to identify it
Taro has more fibrous ringed skin and may show fine purple flecks when cut; sweet potato is usually smoother.
Common Hong Kong household uses
Use Sweet Potato only where the recipe names it, following the stated amount and cooking method.
Choosing & preparing
Wash thoroughly under clean running water immediately before preparation; CFS does not recommend soap or produce wash.
Storage
Follow CFS vegetable-storage guidance and purchase directions; if washed before storage, dry thoroughly first.
What Ma’am or Sir may say
買番薯。The employer is asking you to buy Sweet Potato; check the market sign or original package.
Useful market phrase
我想買番薯。Meaning: I would like to buy Sweet Potato.
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Sources (5)
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items Multilingual Booklet
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Public Market Items - Gourds
- Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department — Gourds and other vegetables Cantonese pinyin
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Safe and Fresh: Practical Tips for Storing Vegetables
- Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety — Pesticide Residues in Food - Frequently Asked Questions