Kinton means gold bar or lump of gold. Kinton is a dish in which mashed, sweetened sweet potato is tossed with candied chestnuts. The sweet potato is usually cooked with dried gardenia flower pod to make the dish to acquire bright golden yellow color. I have changed my mother’s recipe in 3 areas. I cook the sweet potato in the oven for stronger flavor of sweet potato; I reduced the amount of sugar added to the sweet potato mash; I added little orange and yuzu juice to cook the sweet potato.
Here is the preparation. Bake the sweet potato in the oven (400F) for 50 to 60 minutes. Peel the skin and press it through a fine strainer. In a saucepan add ½ cup orange juice and one gardenia pod. Cook the mixture over low heat until the orange juice acquire a bright golden yellow color. Add the strained sweet potato to a pot and mix with the orange juice. Add the sugar and cook until the sweet potato is no longer watery. The amount of sugar is to your preference. Toss the sweet potato with the candid chestnut.
Consuming Kinton at the New Year implies that you will have a good luck to making money.