Kamote Cue – Filipino Caramelised Sweet Potato Skewers

“Golden and caramelised to perfection — Kamote Cue, a simple and delightful Filipino sweet potato street snack. 🍠✨”

Kamote Cue – A Sweet Filipino Discovery in My Kitchen

Some recipes enter our kitchens not through cookbooks or restaurants, but through the people who become a part of our everyday lives.

Having a Filipino helper at home has introduced me to several lovely Filipino dishes and snacks—some very simple, yet completely new to me. Being a vegetarian, I am always delighted when I discover food from another culture that is naturally vegetarian or vegan. It opens a little window into another country, its people and the flavours they have grown up enjoying.

Kamote Cue was one such delightful discovery.

Imagine thick slices of sweet potato, soft and comforting on the inside, covered with a shiny layer of caramelised brown sugar on the outside and served on a bamboo skewer. The first bite has the gentle crunch of caramel, followed by the warm, naturally sweet and creamy sweet potato beneath it. It is rustic, uncomplicated and so satisfying.

As Indians, sweet potato—or shakarkandi—is not unfamiliar to us. We enjoy it boiled, roasted, made into chaat or eaten during fasting days. Yet, the Filipino way of caramelising it with brown sugar and serving it on skewers gives this familiar vegetable an entirely different personality.

Today, I am sharing this simple and delicious Filipino Kamote Cue recipe, a naturally vegan street-food snack that can be prepared with just three main ingredients.

The Culinary Story of Kamote Cue

In Filipino, kamote means sweet potato. The word cue comes from the way the cooked sweet potatoes are served on bamboo skewers, rather like barbecue, although Kamote Cue is fried and not grilled.

It is a popular street snack in the Philippines and is commonly eaten as merienda, the light snack enjoyed between regular meals. Street vendors prepare large batches in wide woks, coating the pieces of sweet potato with brown sugar as they fry. Once the sugar melts and clings to the slices, it forms the glossy caramel layer that makes Kamote Cue so tempting.

There is something so charming about snacks like these. They do not need elaborate ingredients or complicated techniques. They are created from what is easily available, and over time they become woven into the everyday food memories of a country.

If you have come across the name written as “Camite Cue,” the traditional and most commonly used spelling is Kamote Cue.

Kamote Cue Recipe

Cuisine: Filipino
Course: Snack / Sweet Treat
Diet: Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
Serves: 3–4

Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes – 500 g

• Dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar – ¾ cup

• Neutral cooking oil – for deep-frying

• Bamboo skewers – as required

Method

Preparing the Sweet Potatoes

Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them diagonally into thick slices of approximately 1 cm. Cutting them diagonally gives us broader pieces that sit nicely on the skewers and also look more attractive when served.

Try to keep the slices even in thickness so that they cook at the same time. Pat them completely dry with a clean kitchen towel before frying, as any water on the surface may cause the hot oil to splatter.

Frying and Caramelising

Heat sufficient oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed kadai or wok over a medium flame. To check whether the oil is ready, place a tiny piece of sweet potato in it. It should begin to bubble steadily without turning brown immediately.

Carefully add the sweet-potato slices in a single layer. Do not overcrowd the kadai; fry them in batches if required. Allow them to cook for around 3–4 minutes, turning gently, until they are nearly cooked and begin to turn lightly golden.

Now sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over and around the sweet-potato slices in the hot oil. Let the sugar settle and begin to melt for a few seconds. Once it starts caramelising, gently turn the slices using long tongs or a slotted spoon.

As you continue turning them, the melted brown sugar will gradually cling to the sweet potatoes and form a beautiful glossy coating. Remove each piece carefully and place it on a lightly greased plate, baking paper or silicone mat. Avoid placing the caramel-coated pieces directly on a paper towel, as they may stick to it.

Allow the sweet potatoes to cool for a minute or two. Thread two or three pieces onto each bamboo skewer and serve them while they are still pleasantly warm.

A Few Simple Tips

• Choose firm sweet potatoes without bruises or soft spots.

• Yellow- or orange-fleshed sweet potatoes can both be used for this recipe.

• Dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar gives Kamote Cue its deep caramel colour and rich flavour.

• Keep the flame medium. If the oil is too hot, the sugar may burn before the sweet potato cooks properly.

• Do not overcrowd the kadai, as this lowers the temperature of the oil and can make the sweet potatoes oily.

• Grease the plate or baking paper very lightly before placing the caramelised pieces on it.

• The bamboo skewers are part of the traditional presentation, but the sweet potatoes can also be served directly on a plate.

An Important Note While Working with Caramel

Melted sugar becomes extremely hot and can cause a serious burn. Use long-handled tongs, work patiently and do not touch or taste the caramel immediately. Make sure the sweet potatoes are completely dry, and never add water to hot oil.

Can Jaggery Be Used Instead of Brown Sugar?

Jaggery can certainly be used if you would like to give the dish a more Indian flavour. However, the taste, colour and texture of the coating will be slightly different. For the traditional Filipino flavour and glossy caramel finish, dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar works best.

How to Serve Kamote Cue

Kamote Cue is best enjoyed freshly prepared, when the caramel coating is still slightly crisp and the sweet potato inside is warm and tender. It makes a lovely evening snack with a cup of tea or coffee and can also be served as a simple dessert after a meal.

This is not a snack that stores particularly well because the caramel absorbs moisture and becomes sticky with time. If there are leftovers, refrigerate them in an airtight container and warm them briefly in an air fryer or oven. However, the flavour and texture are at their best on the day they are made.

A Familiar Ingredient, A New Flavour

What I love most about Kamote Cue is how it transforms such a familiar and humble ingredient into something so different. It is also a beautiful reminder that food does not always need to be elaborate to be memorable.

Sometimes, all it takes is a familiar vegetable, a new way of preparing it and a recipe shared across cultures to bring a fresh flavour into our kitchens.

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