It seems like the UrbanSpace Holiday Markets, which have always featured somewhat gimmicky food vendors, has turned into a full-on Tik Tok frenzy. Lines have gotten insane and one dumpling vendor even turned me away when I ordered saying a certain dish was only available for “Influencers.”
To be honest, I am not as interested anymore in giant dripping cheese and meat sandwiches or overpriced hot chocolates topped with candy bars.
I was at the market because I generally enjoy looking around (when it’s not too crowded) and am always open to trying something new and surprising.
At the Korean Broth Bar stall run by Reclamation Food, which specializes in healthy Korean-style bone broths (duh), there is one under $10 item on the menu that caught my eye. It’s no doubt it was there because bone broths just do not have the visual appeal to make it big on Tik Tok.
The dish is called Goguma and they are traditional caramelized roasted Japanese sweet potatoes. If baked potatoes are a thing at food stands, why not this?
It sounds simple and kind of silly that this is a steamed sweet potato wrapped in paper. It’s even sillier that they charge you $6 for the tuber and another $3 if you want the literal sugar on top (coconut honey caramel and a torched cinnamon and sugar topping).
I was a bit embarrassed that I forked over my money but it was pretty darn tasty. It’s a much more complex potato than the yam variety we get at Thanksgiving. The white flesh is soft and sweet with a hint of lemon. Of course, I got the sugar and it enhanced the flavors more than I expected. I thought it would be a sticky sweet mess, but it was much more refined and delicious than I expected.
As I walked through the market munching on my potato, a woman came up to me, amazed and asked, “Is that a sweet potato?” She said she loves sweet potatoes and needed to know where to get it. She didn’t DM me or scroll through my posts. Yet somehow in real life, I was an influencer. Can I get those dumplings now? Price: $6 ($9 with brûlée topped)
| KOREAN BROTH BAR BY RECLAMATION FOODS |
| Union Square Holiday Market, East 14th Street and Park Avenue South, Booth F2, Union Square |
| reclamationfoods.com |
basically it’s a baked Japanese satsuma imo that’s a very popular treat in Asia (besides the obvious country) and also be found in Murray Hill (Queens) I like to bake mine at home, too, but without the charcoal flavor (sadly).