Sweet Potato Chips with Curried Aioli

As a child in China, roasted sweet potatoes were a favorite street food of mine.  They would be sold out of big barrels, with the skin charred and crispy and the flesh soft and sweet, they were just the most comforting thing to have in the winter.  Later on I discovered that most of the barrels were stolen from factories and contained lead residue #childhoodruined.

So I no longer buy them on the streets and just make them at home. 

But it's not the same.  Maybe it's the sweet potato variety, maybe it's the roasting method, maybe it's the taste of the lead -- it's just not as good when made at home.  I like them baked whole but I also like them as chips.  Now, it's hard to get them crispy because of the high starch content.  You need to soak them in water for quite a long time beforehand and later toss them in plenty of oil and many recipes also suggest cornmeal.  Maybe the cornmeal would've helped because mine were just soaked and then drizzled with oil and they were not the crispiest...

Soggy or crispy, sweet potatoes are nevertheless delicious.  And that aioli - storebought mayo + garam masala + minced garlic.  I ain't got the patience for homemade mayo on most days, especially for such small amounts, sorry to disappoint. 

Serves 2 as a side
Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato
Olive oil

Aioli
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp garam masala

Method
Cut the sweet potato into even 1cm sticks.  Put them in a bowl with cold water to cover and soak for at least half an hour.

Preheat oven to 200C.

Drain the sweet potato and thoroughly pat-dry with kitchen paper.  Toss with plenty of olive oil and salt and spread in an even layer on a lined baking tray.  Bake for 30-40 minutes. 

For the aioli, mix all the ingredients together and adjust the flavorings to taste. Serve with sweet potato chips.