Spicy Baby Potatoes
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Category
Sichuan
Author:
Ingredients
- 1.3 pounds of small potato [Leave the skin on]
- 2 tbsp of oil to pan fry the potato
- 1/2 of a small size onion finely diced
- 15 cloves of garlic grated
- 1 tsp of cumin seed
- 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 1 tsp of paprika for color
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of hot chili powder or cayenne powder [Depends how spicy do you want]
- 1 + 1/4 tsp of salt or to taste
- Diced scallion for garnish
Directions
In a cast iron pan, toast 1 tsp of cumin seed, and 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorn. Add the toasted spices into a blender, along with 1/2 tsp of black peppercorn. Blend them into a fine powder.
- Put the spice blend in a bowl. Continue adding 1 tsp of paprika (Paprika is not spicy, but it gives the dish a nice color). I am also adding some hot chili powder to adjust the heat level. It is very spicy but it is optional. 3/4 tsp of sugar, last but not least, some salt to taste. Mix that well and set it aside.
- I like to use small baby potatoes for this recipe. They are just perfect bite size. If you use big potatoes, you will need to cut them into big chunks.
- Just simply boil it in water for 20-30 minutes, depends on the size of your potatoes. You can test it with a fork, As long as it can easily go through. You can take out the potato. Drain the water. Cool it down under running water so your hands can handle it.
- Use the knife handle, slightly smash all the potatoes. It has skin on. We want to open it up so the flavor can get in. You can also do this with a hammer or your fist if you prefer.
- Heat up your pan, add some oil. Toss it around so the oil covers the bottom. Dump in the potatoes. I am just adjusting them to maximize the surface between the ingredient and the frying pan. Fry them on medium high heat for 5-8 minutes on each side until golden brown. Then you can take them out and set it aside. This recipe uses pretty much a lot of potatoes so you might have to fry them in batches.
- Add more oil in the same pan, dump in some grated garlic, along with some diced onion. Stir them until the onion is translucent and they should smell amazing.
- Introduce the potato back to the pan. Toss them until the garlic and the onion are well distributed. Then sprinkle in the spice mix that we made before. I will suggest you add it in batches so you can adjust it because everyone’s sensitivity is different.
- Turn off the heat. Give it a try and decide if you want the rest of the spices in, which I do. Give it a few final tosses and that’s it. Top some green onion for garnish and you are done.
