potato stir-fry
You can prepare potatoes in so many ways: cook them, bake them, broil them, slice them, make them au gratin, mash them - but this way of stir-frying potatoes doesn't make its way to the table very often. You don't see this dish in Chinese restaurants in the West, because this dish is considered to be way too plain. I mean, the ingredients are just potatoes and some spring onions, right? No meat, no fish, no frills - but it is a truly comforting and addictive dish, because the potatoes have a great texture and a special flavour to them, brought by Sichuan pepper oil (read on to see how to make that).
Even so, I wish they would serve it, because I am thourougly fed up with the limited amount of dishes they serve in Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands. When you start counting, it is just 5 to 6 sauces with 5 to 6 ingredients, which makes a long list, but is very boring indeed. This potato stir-fry, however, is definitely a home-style dish, quite common in Northern China, with many variations to it. I always order it when I see it on the menu there, because it is tasty, and so cheap you really can't not-order. Not long ago, I had this at a Chinese friend's house, and made up my mind to recreate this dish.
Peel 3 large firm potatoes (not the kind for potato mash) and cut into very thin slices. Then cut the slices into very fine strips (julienne). Cut 2 spring onions into similar strips and chop one clove of garlic very fine. Prepare the Sichuan pepper (huajiao) oil as follows: heat 6 or 7 tablespoons of oil in a pan or wok, add 3 tablespoons of huajiao (Sichuan pepper) and fry on low heat until the oil is fragrant. Discard the Sichuan pepper and sieve the slightly colored oil into a bowl. Let cool until use. For extra flavour, soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water until soft, cut into strips. (you can omit this step if you like). Put the potato strips in boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes - check regularly, they shouldn't turn soft! This doesn't happen quick ,though, it has to cook quite a while. When still a little undone (but not raw), drain the potatoes and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and fry the spring onions and the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the potatoes, stir to combine, and keep on frying for about 5 minutes. Add some salt, some of the Sichuan pepper oil (taste, about 2 tablespoons), half a tablespoon of sesame oil, and taste again. Add half a tablespoon of sugar and the same amount of Chinese vinegar, stir. Put on a plate and garnish with cilantro and ground Sichuan pepper. Lovely! You can add chili oil too, if you like. This dish is also good served cold. I will definitely make this more often, as it is easy and quick to prepare; a vegetarian side dish with lots of flavour.
Even so, I wish they would serve it, because I am thourougly fed up with the limited amount of dishes they serve in Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands. When you start counting, it is just 5 to 6 sauces with 5 to 6 ingredients, which makes a long list, but is very boring indeed. This potato stir-fry, however, is definitely a home-style dish, quite common in Northern China, with many variations to it. I always order it when I see it on the menu there, because it is tasty, and so cheap you really can't not-order. Not long ago, I had this at a Chinese friend's house, and made up my mind to recreate this dish.
Peel 3 large firm potatoes (not the kind for potato mash) and cut into very thin slices. Then cut the slices into very fine strips (julienne). Cut 2 spring onions into similar strips and chop one clove of garlic very fine. Prepare the Sichuan pepper (huajiao) oil as follows: heat 6 or 7 tablespoons of oil in a pan or wok, add 3 tablespoons of huajiao (Sichuan pepper) and fry on low heat until the oil is fragrant. Discard the Sichuan pepper and sieve the slightly colored oil into a bowl. Let cool until use. For extra flavour, soak 3 dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water until soft, cut into strips. (you can omit this step if you like). Put the potato strips in boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes - check regularly, they shouldn't turn soft! This doesn't happen quick ,though, it has to cook quite a while. When still a little undone (but not raw), drain the potatoes and set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and fry the spring onions and the garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the potatoes, stir to combine, and keep on frying for about 5 minutes. Add some salt, some of the Sichuan pepper oil (taste, about 2 tablespoons), half a tablespoon of sesame oil, and taste again. Add half a tablespoon of sugar and the same amount of Chinese vinegar, stir. Put on a plate and garnish with cilantro and ground Sichuan pepper. Lovely! You can add chili oil too, if you like. This dish is also good served cold. I will definitely make this more often, as it is easy and quick to prepare; a vegetarian side dish with lots of flavour.
3 Comments:
I'll try this one for sure!
But euh, with chinese vinegar, which one do you mean? White, black or red? :)
The kind I use most often nowadays is the dark Chinese vinegar, also called Chinkiang (Jinjiang) vinegar. I used to buy a special kind called Yung-chun (Yongchun) Old Vinegar for my Chinese dishes, but it has disappeared from Chinese stores. Therefore I started using the Chinkiang kind, but I am not really happy with the flavour : I find it too harsh sometimes. Perhaps I should stick to my favorite brand Japanese vinegar (Mizkan grain flavored distilled vinegar, with a logo of three dashes and an 0 underneath), which is very subtle in flavour, but that one is white...
Kom naar New York en je kunt je hart ophalen. Heerlijke gerechten.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/dining/10chine.html?pagewanted=2
Joeneke
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