The Best Homemade Potato Chips Ever! || No More Soggy Crisps || The Ultimate Chip Guide

If you have ever attempted making potato chips youll know that it is one of the easiest fried foods to get wrong. 

One mis-step could ruin the entire mission. 

The wrong cut?

The wrong process?

The wrong oil?

Even the wrong kinda potato!

There are many reasons why you should just say screw it and buy a bag of chips, but one reason why you should not:

No store bought chips will taste as good as homemade! 

FACT.

Luckily you have me to help you with this easy to follow pictorial guide showing

HOW TO GET THE PERFECT POTATO CHIP EVERYTIME!

I perfected this recipe during my university days and I haven't looked back. 

I made this particular batch on a weekday afternoon for a beloved guest and would you believe me if I tell you it took me only about 20 minutes?

The most difficult part is peeling the potatoes. 

Yup.

Let's begin!

Here's what you need:

About 10 medium sized potatoes (peeled) make sure theyre similar in size. 

A kettle of hot boiling water (1.5L)

Oil to deep fry

Any Seasoning of your choice.

Thats it!

CRUCIAL STEP #1 - Slicing

Slice the potatoes into thin vertical slices.

Unless youve got Iron chef level precision, don't use a knife!

Its impossible to get equal thickness with a knife. 

Use a madoline slicer (V slicer), like I have up there.

Haven't got one? You can use the side of a grater or even a potato peeler, though the chips might be too thin.

I used the thinnest attachment on my mandoline which gave me chips with 1 - 1.5mm thickness.

Transfer the slices into a large bowl.

Pour the kettle of boiling water over the slices and make sure the chips are completely submerged

Use all the water!

Use a slotted spoon to swirl the water carefully, making sure the slices are not clumped together.

We want every part of every chip to be exposed to the hot water

After abot 10 minutes or when the water gets cool enough for your hands, strain it out with a colander

You'll notice instantly that the water is a little thick and sticky. 

That's the potato starch. Removing the starch yields a crispy batch of chips with no sogginess at all!

Rinse the chips under a running tap.

Go in with your hands to separate the slices and ensure there is absolutely no stickiness left on the chips. 

Then inspect the slices

Notice any difference between these chips?

Of course, you do! You're a smart cook!

The chip on the left looks thicker and opaque while the right looks thin and translucent.

Why?

The left is fresh cut chips while the right is after the hot water bath.

At this point, you want all your chips to look like the right, which they should if you soaked them correctly.

If you fry your chips fresh cut, the starch will be released and you will have very soggy and oily chips.

Starch levels vary between species of potatoes, so some might need less time while other might need more time in the water bath

 Just make sure you don't leave them in hot water for too long or elSe they'll break apart.

Leave the chips in a colander for the water to drain before frying.

If youre in a hurry (as I was), you can spread out ppaper towels

And lay out the chips one by one to absorb all the excess moisture.

Use another paper towel to dab off the top surfaces and youre ready to fry.

Heat your oil pan on high heat then return to medium for frying

Use fresh oil or newish oil that has only been used for potatoes. Fresh is better.

Test the oil. Its ready when a chip dropped in spreads flat open immediately. 

That up there isn't.

Proceed to place your chips into the oil making sure the pan isnt overcrowded and chips don't overlap 

Turn constantly, making sure all the faces of the chips spend time in the oil.

Almost done.

You'll notice the chips beginning to curl around the edges when they're almost done.

Keep checking constantly and returning them if necessary.

The chips are done when the oil stops releasing air bubbles.

It takes about 3-5 minutes to fry each batch and you have to make sure the oil is hot enough before starting another batch. 

Check out this photo below...

See the side of this chip looks curled and crisp , but the middle part? You can see its still translucent and bendy.

My hands also look oily, right?

This chip is not ready. 

A cooked chip cannot hold onto oil like this, even when its freshly out of oil.

It needs another minute or two in the hot oil.

Your chip is cooked when it is golden brown and opaque from the edge to the middle

Like this!

Oh my goodness! This is what love is.

Light

Crispy

Golden brown.

Leave the chips to drain and cool off on a paper lined tray or airy basket.

Airy is the keyword.

As the chip cools it gets crispier and crispier.

Use this time to make your seasoning.

In a small mortar, I combined:

Salt

Blackpepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

Paprika

1/2 a maggi cube

And pulverized them even more to make a very fine powder.

The finer the powder, the more flavour clings on to the chips.

Here's what I ended up with. 

I sprinkled it onto the chips a little at a time.

A little goes a long way and I ended up using less than half of the spice mix.

That's it! You're done!

I served mine as a side to go with Jamaican jerk kebabs and pickles.

My guest loved it very very much and when she asked 'Where did you buy these chips from? They're amazing!'

I couldn't hep but feel proud of my little old self for coming up with this last minute treat.

These would go amazing with a nice cream cheese dip, salsa, gucamole or even sweet chilli. The possibilities are endless. 

I gave half to our guest, ate a handful, gave baby R another handful and kept the rest for the husband. 

Can you believe this little angel after finishing her portion went and fished out her dad's portion from where I hid it and finished his too! 

All he got were broken chips and crumbs to taste and when she saw the crumbs she went after them too. 

Even after licking the plate she followed me to the kitchen asking for more!

Can't say I blame her, these chips are absolutely delish!

Give them a try and let me know how it goes.

Trust me, you'll never look at store bought chips the same way again.

That's it guys!

Did you enjoy this recipe?

Do you also make your own chips?

Ever had trouble frying your own chips?

Let me know in the comments below!

Take care!

Lots of crispy love,

Ummi

x o x o

Weekend Diary: Cry Baby Shopping

Hey there!

 

Ramadan Kareem! Hope you had a fabulous weekend. Mine was pretty busy, but Alhamdulillah, it was quite funehfcvgfcrfdd.

 

Saturday

 

My cousin is getting married in about 4 weeks! And she still doesn't have some essential furniture so we took her to a furniture showroom Alfemo in Gwarinpa.

They've got some really impressive pieces there, mostly modern European style living room and bedroom sets. I always feel tempted To buy when I visit but then I remind myself that My living room is clustered enough as it is!

Baby R was mad at me cos she was sleeping comfortably in the car and I accidentally woke her. She kept crying and sulking the whole time, I had to do something I had never done since she was born: I had to Piggyback back her in public! With a wrapper and everything and climb up four flights of stairs! Phew! I was exhausted by the time we were done!

After an hour on mummy's back and several reps of Old McDonalds farm, she calmed down and seemed ready to forgive.

By the time we got to Malabis Lingerie, she had dozed off again.

 

See the scars on her face? I get so worried about them! The one on her nose is from her nails being sharp at the edges and I'm sure will fade away.

 

The big gash on her forehead was horrible! She was running towards me and couldn't stop herself so she hit the edge of a pillar and had a concussion. It took two days for the swelling to go down and a week for the wound to heal but now I worry the scar might persist for life. Oh well, there's always concealer...when she's old enough, that is.

 

Anyways, glad she dozed off cos that gave me time to do what I went to do there: shop for custom made nightwear and bottoms. Unfortunately they were all sold out, thanks to the shopping frenzy at fusion. Sigh. Ended up with only four bottoms and no nightwear. They promised to make new stock in Two weeks so I'll be back!

Got home at 5:55pm and still had to prepare Iftar! Sigh. Luckily I had diluted and filtered my peanut paste earlier and popped it in the freezer before I went out. So when I got back, I took it out and placed it on the fire, added some rice after 30 minutes and voila! Kunun Gyada!

Guess what this beauty is...

The cheesy crust on my potato au gratin!

We had it with beef goulash

Beef, carrots, mushrooms, onions, in a tomato paprika sauce. Yum!

 

Sunday:

 

Had to run errands on Sunday. Finally got to do our Ramadan shopping at the new Sahad stores in central area. It's finally opened!

If you're an Abuja resident you'll understand my joy! I have used to have a longstanding love hate relationship with Sahad for as long as I can remember.

First, it's super crowded and disorganized. You have to elbow and shoulder and punch people outta your way.

Then, there are no price tags! You find out prices at the check out with the guy yelling "kai, Mallam nawa wan An?"

Then there's no guarantee. If you see something you like at Sahad, you'd better buy it cos when you come back tomorrow, it'll be gone and will never be stocked again!

But what can we do? Sahad is still one of the best places to shop for pantry items in Abuja due to their low prices, bulk stock and often, pleasant locally made gems. So we put up with the stress.

But all that has changed! The new Sahad is a breath of fresh air!

 

What's this? Ample parking? At Sahad? Unbelievable!

 

Huh? No junk on the floor? No precariously placed boxes of eggs? Clear aisles? I can actually push my cart without tearing someone's Achilles? Wonderful!

 

Even Baby R was impressed!

 

Or maybe she was just licking off her boogers. Eew.

 

That's the front entrance.

 

Two of many ATMs.

 

Very helpful staff member. I was impressed.

The view from the undercroft parking lot. I'm guessing there are vacant store spaces for lease.

 

The Way out. On the left there's a warehouse and car parks and on the right is the actual store. I'm reallyimpressed with their new look. I love it when businesses take criticism and move forward with their client. Keep up the good work!

I shall return.

That was my weekend in a nutshell, what did you do this last weekend?

 

Let me know down below.

 

Love, Ummi.

 

 

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Steak and Veggie Puff Pie

 

So you're having guests and looking to make something relatively easy but still want to impress? Try this!

 

Hearty strips of beef steak in a spicy roux + chunks of carrots and potatoes in a puff pastry basket.

 

 

 

You can always mix it up with different veggies. I actually planned to make beef and mushroom pie but I had run out of shrooms, so carrots and potatoes had to do.

 

This super easy recipe serves 5 - 6 adults and maybe more kids. Serve with a simple garden salad for a well balanced meal.

 

 

 

 

Here's what you need

 

300g of beef steak, cut in strips

2 puff pastry sheets

5 carrots sliced

10 potatoes roughly chopped

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp barbecue sauce

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp oregano

2 seasoning cubes

Salt to taste

1 cup of water or beef stock

 

 

Here's how it goes

 

Bring out pastry from the freezer to thaw a little (30 mins).

 

Preheat oven to 200*C/medium-high.

 

Melt the margarine in a medium saucepan. Add the onions and stir until translucent.

 

Add the garlic and ginger and stir for two minutes.

 

Add the beef, salt, seasoning cubes, black pepper, oregano and stir until beef is browned.

 

Add carrots and potatoes and Stir fry for another 5 minutes.

 

Add soy sauce, barbecue sauce and sugar. Stir fry until dry.

 

Add tomato paste and water or stock. Cover to simmer for 10 minutes. Start next step immediately.

 

Meanwhile, roll out your pastry to the appropriate size and cover the base and sides of a baking dish.

 

Use a fork to dock a few holes in the pastry. Bake for 10 minutes. It should look half cooked.

 

Don't turn the oven off.

 

Add the flour to the beef in the saucepan and stir into a roux.

 

 

Empty the contents of of the saucepan into the pastry base.

 

Roll out the other pastry sheet and cut into 1 inch strips.

 

Use strips to form a basket weave like shown above.

 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the pastry is evenly brown and crisp.

 

Serve!

 

 

 

WARNING! This recipe is extremely popular and might make people like you. Share only at your own risk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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