Forget Butter: This Aromatic Condiment Is A Game Changer For Sweet Potatoes With 10X The Flavor

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It's no secret that sweet and spicy is a flavor combo for the ages — they've belonged together long before "swicy" foods became popular. There are myriad ways to put these two flavors together, but one of the best involves topping roasted sweet potatoes with a spicy, aromatic condiment: chile crisp. Count this as one of the top ways to add more flavor to sweet potatoes.

Chile crisp is an oil-based hot sauce that originated in China but has endless variations and adaptations. The original from Laoganma includes peanuts, which give it a nutty crunch. It's made by frying chiles, aromatics, and nuts or seeds in oil. It's the perfect topping for slow-roasted sweet potato — creating harmony in flavor and texture. It's worth noting that chile crisp comes in varying degrees of spice, so pick one for your preference.

Topping roasted sweet potatoes with chile crisp is pretty straightforward. Once the sweet potatoes are done roasting in the oven, let them cool briefly. Then cut them in half lengthwise and throw them on an oiled grill to further caramelize the flesh. This step is optional, but it will bring even more sweetness into the dish. You can then top the roasted sweet potatoes with chile crisp, or cut them into wedges and drizzle it over top. You're in for a sweet, spicy, creamy, and crispy treat.

Roasting whole sweet potatoes does take some time, so if you're looking for a quicker dish, you can peel and cut the sweet potatoes into discs, chunks, or wedges, toss in a chile crisp coating, and bake in the oven or air fryer. For this variation, you can mix the chile crisp with a bit more oil of your choice, plus other ingredients. Minced garlic, fresh rosemary, or even the savory Japanese condiment, miso paste, can be used to enhance the coating.

If you're choosing the whole roasted sweet potatoes with chili crisp as a topping, one recommendation to amp them up even further is to add crumbled feta. This punch of saltiness takes this side dish to a whole new level, while a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro will bring it all together. This has similar flavors to Miriam Hahn's chile-lime sweet potato tacos recipe. You can also turn your chile-crispy sweet potatoes into ground beef bowls.

If you like earthier flavors, you can try topping the sweet potatoes with fried sage and creamy burrata cheese before drizzling the chili crisp over top. When sweet and fiery flavors like this get together, there are so many additional ingredients that will play well... this is when experimenting really gets fun!