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Prep time
15 minutes
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Cook time
15 minutes
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Serves
2
Author Notes
If your social media feed is as fixated on food as mine is, you might have seen these accordion potatoes making the rounds lately, as they seem to do every festive season. They’re these rectangular blocks of potatoes that have been sliced in such a way that makes them stretchy and pliable like an accordion, as their namesake suggests.
I was intrigued, so I did my due diligence and gave them a try. And they were certified cronchy! The slits in the potatoes increased their surface area, so as they fry up they become crispier and crunchier than regular fries. If anything they remind me of crinkle-cut fries! While they were texturally sound, I found their flavor a bit lacking. So I topped them with a simple fish sauce caramel and it made all the difference.
So I boiled my potatoes for 2 minutes, then fried them in hot oil for 10, before drizzling them in a caramel made of sugar, fish sauce, and black pepper. A final sprinkling of salt and chopped herbs later, and they’re done!
They’re crispy on the outside, soft and steamy on the inside, and most importantly they now have a punchy, funky flavor, just how I like it. —Jun
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Ingredients
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3-4
large potatoes, Russets or Yukon Golds1
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1 tablespoon
(12g) kosher salt, or more depending on amount of water
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½ cups
(100g) granulated sugar
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1 tablespoon
(15ml) fish sauce
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1 tablespoon
(15ml) water
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¼ teaspoons
freshly ground black pepper
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1 pinch
flaky salt
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1 tablespoon
chopped parsley
Directions
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Peel the potatoes and slice them into rectangular blocks with the rough dimensions 3-inches x 2-inches x ¾-inch. You should be able to get roughly 2 blocks per potato. (You can save the potato trimmings to make mashed potatoes or work it into a potato salad.)
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Along the largest side of the potato, cut slices on the potato parallel to the 2-inch edge, about ¼-inch apart and two-thirds of the way deep through the potato. Flip the potato around and do the same for the other side, only this time make diagonal slices roughly 45° to the first round of slices. Do this for all the potato blocks.
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Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, then season with kosher salt. (1 tbsp of salt seasons, 2 quarts of water.) Boil all the sliced potato blocks in the water for 2 minutes. When done, remove the potatoes from the water and let them cool on a wire rack for at least 5 minutes.
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Pour oil into a pot or deep pan until at least 2 inches deep. Heat up the oil to 350°F (177°C). Fry the potatoes in the oil for 10 minutes until golden brown, flipping the potatoes halfway through.
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When done, take the potatoes out of the oil, place it on a wire rack to drain the excess oil.
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For the fish sauce caramel, pour the sugar into a pan and place over medium-high heat. Let it melt, swirling the melted sugar around so it caramelizes evenly. Once the sugar is a deep golden color, add in the fish sauce, water, and black pepper, then swirl it around to incorporate. Set aside.
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Pile the potatoes on a plate, drizzle the dish sauce caramel on top, then garnish with flaky salt, and chopped parsley. Crunch away!
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