Every now and then, I just want potato chips with a hamburger for dinner, which is what we had last night. I read a lot of recipes for baked sweet potato chips, but in the end, Ken convinced me that I should just fry them. He was right. One recipe that I looked at suggested soaking the sliced sweet potatoes in warm water with some cornstarch before cooking them, claiming a crunchier result. I am not a Cooks Illustrated type, so I took her at her word and gave it a go instead of setting up an experiment. I had pretty spectacular results.
Time: 1.5 hours total–10 minutes active prep, 15 to 30 minutes soaking, 10 minutes draining, 30 to 45 minutes frying, depending on how many you decide to make.
Servings: 3 medium potatoes makes about 6 servings
Ingredients:
3 medium-sized sweet potatoes (I used Japanese sweet potatoes)
Frying oil (I used a combination of canola and avocado)
1 T corn starch
Salt or other seasoning to taste
Instructions:
Thinly slice potatoes with their skin on. I use a mandolin, but if you are good at hand-cutting, go for it! Put them in a large bowl, cover with warm tap water, and mix in the cornstarch. Let sit for about 30 minutes. Drain potatoes in layers separated with paper towels. In the meantime, pour about and inch and a half of oil into a heavy pan with tall-ish sides. I use a cast iron dutch oven to fry in, because I don’t fry that many foods and do not own a deep fryer. Heat oil to a good frying temperature. If you are the thermometer using type of person, I believe the desired temperature is around 350 to 360 degrees. I usually just test the oil with whatever I am frying and adjust the temperature according to the result I get. I am not anti-thermometer; it is just that my thermometers are almost always broken, or I can’t find them when I need them! When the oil is the right temperature, it isn’t smoking, and when you drop the uncooked chips in they rise to the top immediately in a bubbling craze. If your oil is not hot enough, the chip will sink and stay, yielding an inedible rubbery thing. If it is too hot, you will have a lot of burned stuff and smoke. Make sure you have a lid nearby to smother a fire should one arise.
I use wooden tongs to push chips around and flip. Wood does not suck heat out of the oil the way metal does. Keep a close eye on the chips as they cook, as they go from beginning to toast to burned very quickly. When they begin to darken, start taking them out and draining on paper towels. If you are seasoning them, you can do it right away. After they have cooled and crisped, you can pile them for serving.
