Sometimes a recipe title is all the convincing I need to drop my work and run to the kitchen. It happened again when I read - Crispy Potato Roast.
I came across this divine looking crispy roasted potato recipe from one of my favorite food sites, Smitten Kitchen. Deb of Smitten Kitchen described the dish as half potato chips and half fragrant potato roast.
The recipe didn't involve any heavy cream or canned soup, but simple potato slices flavored with olive oil, butter, red-pepper flakes, shallots and thyme. My computer screen never smelled so good. Then I saw Deb’s idea of adding goat cheese or feta and crumbled bacon. Very tempting, but I thought instead about giving it a Malaysian twist with spices.
But as specific as that sounds, Malaysian cuisine is a touch of every Asian flavor. Undeterred, I searched the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, hoping to find an answer. And I found it. Well, I found three answers - Chinese, Indian, and Malay.
Why use one flavor, when you can use three?
I chose a few commonly used spices & ingredients that represent each major ethnic group in Malaysia:
Mixture 1: Chinese - sesame oil, sesame seeds, spring onion, and white pepper.
Mixture 2: Indian - garam masala and curry leaves
Mixture 3: Malay - sambal belacan, a condiment made of fresh chillies grounded together with toasted shrimp paste, lime juice and sugar.
To make sure that each flavor stood out on its own, I divided the potatoes into three parts and seasoned each with a different mixture.
When the potato slices were roasting in the oven, the entire apartment smelled like an explosion of Malaysian food.
And the taste? It was as delicious as the title - Malaysian Crispy Potato Roast.
Malaysian Crispy Potato Roast by Season with Spice
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled & sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
Mixture 1 - Chinese
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
Dash of white pepper and salt
Mixture 2 - Indian
1/2 tsp garam masala
6-10 curry leaves
1/2 tbsp melted butter
Mixture 3 - Malay
1 tsp sambal belacan
1/2 tbsp palm oil (or another cooking oil)
The process:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Prepare mixtures 1, 2, & 3 in separate bowls. Equally divide the potato slices into the three bowls and coat well.
3. Grease a baking pan with 1/2 tbsp cooking oil, and then separate the pan into three parts using tinfoil as a divider. Place the potato slices, in a vertical position, into each respective section.
4. Slide garlic pieces between some of the potatoes slices in each section.
5. Bake for 2 hours until the edges become crispy.
Enjoy while it's hot!
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
3 medium sized potatoes, peeled & sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
Mixture 1 - Chinese
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped
Dash of white pepper and salt
Mixture 2 - Indian
1/2 tsp garam masala
6-10 curry leaves
1/2 tbsp melted butter
Mixture 3 - Malay
1 tsp sambal belacan
1/2 tbsp palm oil (or another cooking oil)
The process:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Prepare mixtures 1, 2, & 3 in separate bowls. Equally divide the potato slices into the three bowls and coat well.
3. Grease a baking pan with 1/2 tbsp cooking oil, and then separate the pan into three parts using tinfoil as a divider. Place the potato slices, in a vertical position, into each respective section.
4. Slide garlic pieces between some of the potatoes slices in each section.
5. Bake for 2 hours until the edges become crispy.
Enjoy while it's hot!
