Foodie

Friday, February 19, 2010

Taro Crunch

When i was shredding taro for Yee Sang, i remembered this snack.  I shredded more taro and made this forgotten snack which was so crunchy.  The taro is sometimes called the "potato" of the humid tropics and indeed it is - a good taro will be fluffy in texture just like the potato.  Taro is quite costly and choosing a good one which will be fluffy is crucial to your pocket and the dish you will be preparing. For a good fluffy taro, choose one that is shaped like a vase - narrow on the top and bottom, wide in the middle and it has to be as smooth as possible - no bumps or knotches.  Bumps mean that the taro has been constricted from growing well and that it has been grown in muddy soil.  Taro grown in sandy soil, grows well and will be fluffy. I have given up buying taro with skin on and have been buying peeled ones, although peeled ones are very much more expensive, at least i can see that the taro will be fluffy and not rotten. 

Taro is so versatile and there are endless recipes which are classics, below are some of the tested recipes -

Woo Tau Koh
Taro fatt koh
Woo Tau Kow Yoke

Woo kok
Taro Shredds

Taro and black-eyed pea cake
Taro fragrant rice
Sueen poon cheeBubur Cha Cha

Fried Nin Ko

There are many more recipes that i would like to try - like Or Nee, Taro Cake, Taro Filling for mooncake and many more.


Ingredients:

1 lb shredded taro
1 cup roasted peanuts - chopped
½ cup sesame seeds
3 - 5 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tsp salt.
Water to bind




Method:

Mix all the ingredients, followed by a little water to bind ingredients.

Heat oil for deep frying and when oil is 350f, using the chopstick, pick up a little taro shreds and deep fry till golden brown and crispy.

Drain well and let cool before storing.




Serves

12 comments:

Su-Lin said...

This looks fantastic! I've bought something similar before but never thought of cooking it at home.

ahteekitchen said...

wow~~this looked delicious!

Tricia said...

Yummy!!!

Anonymous said...

Hello Lily!Gong Xi Fa Cai!Thanks a million for the recipe..I was looking for this for a long time.I remember my dad ordering this every CNY...now I can try making it myself.Does it stay crispy?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips for choosing taros! I was thinking of buying one for frying nin ko but do not know how to . Do you mean the skin of the taro must be smooth, not blemished with bumps or holes? Thanks, maysie

Unknown said...

anonymous

the shape of the taro is more important - the skin is never smooth like the sweet potato and some holes and bumps will be there. Another tip is the scrape the bottom of the taro and the flesh should be whitish and looks powdery.

harold torres said...

hello i need an thai ice tea

Anonymous said...

prob a silly question, how do u shred the taro? use a slicer then hand cut into tiny tiny strips??

Chris said...

Made it this afternoon..awesome! Just wondering if there was a way to keep the taro shreds in a ball shape, like "woo-har" which is common in HK for CNY. Thanks again Lily!

Unknown said...

chris

to make taro shreds in a ball shape, then you need more flour and water so that it can bind the shreds.

Anonymous said...

lily, this recipe is great. I remember it from my childhood days.
But how do i keep it staying crunchy for days ? I put them in a ziplock bag, but it gets soft the next day.

CC

Unknown said...

cc

if the crunches are thoroughly fried through, it should remain crispy. Try baking them in a 300 f oven to further crisp them,cool before storing.

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