Southwest Coast National Scenic Area

Why do customers of Qigu Zhuang’s Charcoal Baked Sweet Potato keep coming back? The secret lies in its selection of sweet potato varieties and specially picked charcoal. According to the change of season, the stall uses either red flesh or yellow flesh sweet potato. The red-fleshed sweet potato is Tainong No. 66 from Mt. Dadu (Taichung), and the harvest period is from September to November each year. The yellow-fleshed sweet potato is Shuilin No. 57 from Yunlin. As for charcoal, Taiwan longan wood is used. It is smokeless, and will not burn the skin of the sweet potato, but instead, gives it a full-bodied fragrance.
The sourced sweet potatoes are first washed and dried in the shade to allow them to dehydrate. When the stall opens on weekends and holidays, the head and tail of the sweet potatoes are then cut off, and the rest of the sweet potatoes are baked in the oven. The baking time varies from 40 minutes to one and a half hour, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes. The baked sweet potatoes are put on top of the stove cover to keep them warm. When a customer orders it, it is weighed and bagged for takeaway.