Yam
* Calorie value is measured per serving weight shown
Nutrition (per 100g)
Common Serving Sizes
How long to burn 56 kcal
Approximate exercise time to burn the 56 kcal in each 100g:
About Yam
A rhizome vegetable used as both food and medicine, with a fine, slippery flesh.
Health Benefits of Yam
A traditional spleen-and-stomach vegetable
Yam is rich in yam polysaccharides and mucin; its slippery juice coats and protects the gastric lining. Traditional Chinese medicine holds it supports the spleen and stomach, and studies back its polysaccharides' immunomodulatory activity. With ~12.4g carbs and 57 kcal per 100g it sits in the moderate-carb middle of root vegetables.
Handling and cooking
The sap from peeled yam contains saponins and plant alkaloids; bare-hand contact can make the skin itchy, so wear gloves or peel under running water. Steaming, yam porridge and yam-pork-rib soup are classics. Sliced yam stored in lightly vinegared water keeps from browning.
Mix coarse and fine for health
Yam can replace part of the rice as a staple: one serving of cooked yam (~200g) has ~25g carbs, fine as a meal's main carb. Iron-stick yam (铁棍) is floury and more nutrient-dense; crisp varieties suit stir-fry, while floury ones are best for soup or steaming.