Chinese potato salad with fresh made chili crisps is not your typical tired, cubed, cold, soft, mayo coated potato salad (although Mark has some fond memories of this). Shredded potato salad is crisp, fragrant, and provides mouth popping zing to any meal.
We all feel we know potatoes pretty well. We’ve had them fried (yum!), baked, mashed, etc. - what else is there? Well, you haven’t completed your potato journey until you’ve tried Chinese shredded spicy potato salad!
Shredded potato salad showcases potatoes when they are still slightly crisp yet tender (think of crisp green beans or cabbage). If you’ve never had potatoes this way, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! Remember, Mark grew up in LA (i.e., lower Alabama) and had never eaten crispy potatoes in his life until traveling to Lanzhou and now he can’t get enough.
While you may be unsure about slightly crisp and perky potatoes, the trick is in how they are cut and the type of potato used. More on this in the instructions below:)
There are numerous versions of shredded potato dishes in China that are eaten in restaurants and at home. Some are blanched and served at room temperature and others are served piping hot straight out of the wok.
We like them all, and will have various versions in future posts, but the version we will show you today features blanched potatoes with a quick and easy spicy chili crisps pour over (who doesn’t like potatoes and fragrant chilis!).
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Best Potato Type for Shredded Potatoes
A word on potato types before we get started. Waxy or all-purpose potatoes (Yukon Gold) work best, compared to more floury baking potatoes (russet). Waxy and all purpose potatoes are lower in starch and higher in water content which helps their cells to stay intact when they are cooked. This results in the perfect texture for our spicy potato salad!
We prefer any type of yellow potato, which can be considered waxy or all-purpose depending on the variety. It is best to buy the largest waxy potatoes you can find because they will be easier to cut into slivers.
Time to get knee deep in potatoes!
What you’ll need for Chinese potato salad with chili crisps
- Waxy or all-purpose potatoes. We prefer yellow potatoes such as Yukon Gold.
- Ground red chili pepper - Sichuan varieties if possible. Sichuan red chili peppers have more depth of flavor and provide medium heat as opposed to cayenne pepper (don’t substitute cayenne pepper). You can also use Korean chili peppers. These can be found at your local Chinese or Korean market, on Amazon, and online at the Mala Market. These are not to be confused with Sichuan peppercorns (hua jiao) below.
- Ground Sichuan pepper (hua jiao) – Hua jiao is a spice (a berry to be exact) commonly used in Sichuan cuisine. It grows on spiky shrubs which can shred the hands of those who pick it. It is grown in other regions as well, but the varieties that come out of Sichuan are renowned. For novices, one of the first things you will notice when eating hua jiao is a pleasant tingling numbing effect. This is due to a molecule called sanshool. Like many of the dry ingredients in our recipes, these can be purchased on Amazon, or for the best quality, order from The Mala Market. If you are using the amazingly fresh (and potent) Hua jiao from the Mala Market, you may want to use less (¼ teaspoon) if you are not used to the tingling effect of Sichuan chili pepper. For me, I say pile it on!!!
- Chinese black vinegar – we prefer Zhenjiang or Baoning vinegar. Zhenjiang vinegar is readily available at many Asian markets. You can buy it on Amazon, but it costs about three times as much as it should. Alternatively, you can buy Sichuan Baoning vinegar from the Mala Market. This is a premium aged vinegar that is worth the price! Baoning vinegar does not contain added salt or sugar, which gives it a brighter flavor than Zhenjiang vinegar. It is a good choice when you have a recipe that already uses soy sauce which has a lot of sodium.
- Light soy sauce
- Sesame seeds (roasted or raw)
- Garlic clove
- Scallions (green part only)
- Sugar
- Salt (optional) - soy sauce usually provides enough salty flavor
- Vegetable oil
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Chop cilantro and set aside to garnish at the end.
Peel the potatoes and then cut into as thin a slices as possible. Lay the potato slices on their side and cut the slices into thin matchstick slivers. You can also use a mandoline, but to be honest I am a little scared of mandolines and prefer to use my Chinese vegetable cleaver (caidao). There is an awesome video by YouTube star Chef Wang that shows the Chinese style of cutting potato slivers.
The next two steps are important because if the excess starch is not removed before cooking, the potatoes will clump and will stick to the wok and will not remain crispy.
Place all of the potato slivers into a bowl and soak in water for 5 - 10 minutes.
Next, rinse the potato slivers thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear and it is no longer cloudy/starchy. Set aside until ready to blanch.
Mince the garlic cloves and finely chop the scallion (green part only). Place the garlic, green onion, Sichuan pepper(Hua jiao), red chili pepper, and sesame seeds on a small deep dish plate or in a small bowl. You want a dish with high enough sides to contain the hot oil when poured.
Heat the vegetable oil to approximately 390°F (200°C). We like to use a digital thermometer so there is no guessing involved. Pour the oil in a circular fashion over the spices and aromatics. They should sizzle gently. After the oil stops sizzling, add the sugar, salt (if using), vinegar, and soy sauce. Give the quick made chili crisps a stir and set aside until ready to pour over the potato slivers.
Add water to a pot (large enough to cover the potatoes) and bring to a boil. Add the potato slivers and bring back to a boil. Boil for approximately 2-3 minutes (depends on size of your slivers). The goal is to get rid of the raw potato flavor, but retain a slight crispy (yet tender) texture.
Remove the potatoes from the boiling water by pouring into a colander (similar to draining pasta) and then immediately run cold water over the potatoes to stop the cooking process. The potatoes can still be slightly warm after running water over them.
Place the potato slivers on a plate with high sides and then pour the fresh made chili crisps over them and mix together thoroughly. If using cilantro you can either mix the chopped cilantro with all other ingredients, or add it on top for a garnish.
Voila! You just made Chinese spicy potato salad! We like to serve it with leafy green stir-fries and hot and sour soup, but they will go with just about anything.
If you want your potatoes hot, next we will feature a recipe just for you. We will be posting a recipe for hot stir-fried Sichuan potato slivers - so stay tuned 🙂
Substitutions and Variations
- Veggies and proteins – we love the sauce from this dish so much that we pour it over just about everything! We even dip our leafy greens in it when we have stir-fried water spinach and Chinese potato salad at the same time. You can pour this sauce over hot tofu, bamboo tofu, cucumber slices, or just about anything else.
Storage
Potato salad can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. We regularly eat this on the second day if we have left-overs, although the flavor is not near as good as when it is fresh. One of the things that gives this dish it's amazing flavor is the freshly made chili crisps/oil sauce. The garlic and scallions taste amazing when they are first simmered in the hot oil. Over time the flavor profile of the cooked garlic and scallions starts to change and the dish takes on a less fragrant aroma and taste.
In conclusion, eat the same day if possible!
📖 Recipe
Chinese Potato Salad with Fresh Made Chili Crisps
Ingredients
- 2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes. We prefer yellow potatoes such as Yukon Gold.
- 1 tablespoon ground red chili pepper Sichuan varieties if possible. See details in post above.
- ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (hua jiao) If you are using the amazingly fresh (and potent) Hua jiao from the Mala Market, you may want to use less (¼ teaspoon) if you are not used to the tingling effect of Sichuan chili pepper. For me I say pile it on!!!
- 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar we prefer Zhenjiang or Baoning vinegar.
- 1.5 tablespoon light soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon sesame seeds roasted or raw
- 1 garlic clove or more depending on taste
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions green part only
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ salt optional - only salt after you have made the chili crisps/oil and taste to see if it is already salty enough from the soy sauce. We usually add just a sprinkle of salt because the soy sauce adds more than enough salty flavor.
- ¼ cup vegetable oil don’t worry, you will not be consuming all of the oil. Much of the fragrant chili oil will be at the bottom of the bowl when you finish.
- small handful fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Chop cilantro and set aside to garnish at the end.small handful fresh cilantro
- Peel the potatoes and then cut into as thin a slices as possible. Lay the potato slices on their side and cut the slices into thin matchstick slivers. You can also use a mandoline, but to be honest I am a little scared of mandolines and prefer to use my Chinese vegetable cleaver (caidao).2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes.
- Place all of the potato slivers into a bowl and soak in water for 5 - 10 minutes.2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes.
- Next, rinse the potato slivers thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear and it is no longer cloudy/starchy.2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes.
- Mince the garlic cloves and finely chop the scallion (green part only). Place the garlic, green onion, Sichuan pepper(Hua jiao), red chili pepper, and sesame seeds on a small deep dish plate or in a small bowl. You want a dish with high enough sides to contain the hot oil when poured.1 tablespoon ground red chili pepper, ½ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper (hua jiao), 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon thinly sliced scallions, ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
- Heat the vegetable oil to approximately 390°F (200°C). We like to use a digital thermometer so there is no guessing involved. Pour the oil in a circular fashion over the spices and aromatics. They should sizzle gently. After the oil stops sizzling, add the sugar, salt (if using), vinegar, and soy sauce. Give the quick made chili crisps a stir and set aside until ready to pour over the potato slivers.¼ cup vegetable oil
- Add water to a pot (large enough to cover the potatoes) and bring to a boil. Add the potato slivers and bring back to a boil. Boil for approximately 2-3 minutes (depends on size of your slivers). The goal is to get rid of the raw potato flavor, but retain a slight crispy (yet tender) texture.2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes.
- Remove the potatoes from the boiling water by pouring into a colander (similar to draining pasta) and then immediately run cold water over the potatoes to stop the cooking process. The potatoes can still be slightly warm after running water over them.2 medium waxy or all-purpose potatoes.
- Place the potato slivers on a plate with high sides and then pour the fresh made chili crisps over them and mix together thoroughly. If using cilantro you can either mix the chopped cilantro with all other ingredients, or add it on top for a garnish.
- Voila! You just made Chinese spicy potato salad! We like to serve it with leafy green stir-fries and hot and sour soup, but they will go with just about anything.
Nutrition
Nutrition disclaimer
malaeats.com is created for informational purposes only. Although we do our best to provide nutritional information to our readers as a general guideline, we are not certified nutritionists and the nutritional values provided should be considered estimates. Numerous factors such as variations in fresh ingredients, brands purchased, etc. will alter the nutritional values in any recipe. Different online calculators also provide different results depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, please use your preferred nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities you used.
Food safety
We sometimes take for a granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods (less than 2 hours is recommended by the CDC).
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention website.
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