What are they?

Fries for people who don't eat fries, who have sworn off potatoes, or who don't wish to deep-fry (they can be baked). Simply put, the deep orange-fleshed tuber of the sweet potato vine offers a sweeter prettier chip than your average white potato.

Where are they?

In Sydney at Hot Star Chicken, Ocean Foods, and Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen; in Melbourne at Melbourne's Local Burger Co, and Big Huey's Diner… it might be easier to list where they are not.

At Dandelion, Geoff and Jane Lindsay's popular modern Vietnamese diner in Elwood, sweet potato fries come with Ha Noi five-spice salt. "The Vietnamese love sweet potato, usually fried," explains Lindsay. He first par-boils whole, unpeeled sweet potatoes, then cuts them into chips, rolling them in tapioca flour before frying. "The tapioca helps to make the chips crisp, often difficult because of the high sugar content," he says. A final toss with nuoc mam salt (similar to anchovy salt) and the house-made Ha Noi five-spice of star anise, cloves, cassia bark, phu quoc pepper and black cardamom, and they're ready to thrill.

At Warren Turnbull's NZ-inspired burger joint in Surry Hills, Chur Burger, the fries come with garlic and lime, ready to match to a lamb, mint and feta burger, vanilla milkshake or beer. "It's a New Zealand thing," says chef and co-owner Warren Turnbull. "I grew up on kumara (sweet potato) fries; every 'fush and chup shop' had them. I'd like to say I put them on because they were a healthier option, but honestly, that was never my intention."

Why do I care?

Because sweet potato is fat-free, packed with fibre, vitamins A, B and C, and has a lower glycaemic index than normal potatoes. And because people adore them.

Can I do them at home?

For a healthier version, leave the skin on, and bake instead of fry. A second bake with egg white (see recipe) will give you a crisper chip.

SOURCING

VIC
Dandelion, 133 Ormond Road, Elwood, (03) 95314900

NSW
Chur Burger, 48 Albion Street, Surry Hills, (02) 9212 3602. (Also Chur Burger Brisbane, 20 Constance Street, Fortitude Valley, (07) 3319 7890) churburger.com.au

Baked sweet potato fries

Serve with a bowl of yoghurt swirled with harissa chilli paste for dipping. They go equally well with drinks, a simple grill or an eggy weekend brunch.

700g sweet potatoes, peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

sea salt and black pepper

1 egg white, beaten

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

1. Heat the oven to 200. Cut the sweet potatoes lengthwise into one centimetre slices, then cut each slice into long, thin chips. Toss lightly in olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, sea salt and pepper, and scatter over a tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once, until tender.

2. Remove the fries and toss in beaten egg white, garlic and parsley. Raise the oven temperature to 210 and return the fries to the oven for a further 10 to 15 minutes (keep an eye on them in case they start to burn). Serve hot.

Serves 6 as a side