How to achieve restaurant-quality crispy chips at home
Chips are an excellent addition to many dishes. Their preparation seems simple, but mistakes made during frying can result in chips turning out rubbery. What can you do to make them golden and crispy? Use this method.
Chips have always enjoyed tremendous popularity, not only as a side dish but also as a standalone snack. Although their preparation seems simple, achieving perfect crispiness often becomes a challenge. However, using a few proven techniques, you can easily achieve results similar to those from the best restaurants in a home kitchen.
The key to perfect chips is the right approach to each step. Every phase, from selecting the potatoes to frying techniques and seasoning, affects the final outcome. See how to prepare chips to be crispy rather than rubbery.
How to make crispy chips? Ingredients
For really crispy chips, it's not enough to simply toss potatoes into hot oil. To make perfect chips, you will need: potatoes, salt, potato flour, and oil for frying.
It's best to choose starchy potato varieties, like type C, which become more crispy when fried. Preparation begins by peeling the potatoes and cutting them into even strips. The thickness of the chips is important here, as it affects the overall frying time.
Next, soak the cut potatoes in a mixture of water with a bit of sugar or vinegar for about 30 minutes. Sugar helps to remove excess starch, making the chips crispy. After that time, remove the potatoes and dry them thoroughly. Then coat the raw potatoes in potato flour, removing the excess. Potato flour creates a delicate, golden crust on the surface of the chips, protecting them from soaking up the fat during frying.
Instead of soaking in water, you can soak the potatoes in Coca-Cola for 10 minutes. Then, just as with soaking in water, dry the potatoes thoroughly, coat them in flour, and fry.
How to fry chips to make them crispy?
Frying chips might seem like a simple task, but it requires attention if you want them to be crispy. It is very important to control the oil temperature, which should be between 170 and 180 degrees Celsius. If the oil temperature is too low, the chips will begin to cook and absorb fat, making them rubbery.
It's best to fry chips in batches. Adding too many potatoes at once to the hot oil can lower the temperature, affecting the frying process. After frying, the chips should be drained of excess fat on a paper towel.
What to serve with chips?
Chips are a universally appealing dish that can be paired with a variety of sides. They are most often served with classic sauces such as ketchup, mayonnaise, or mustard, which perfectly enhance their flavour and add zest.
For fans of more intense flavours, spicy chilli sauces or aioli, which add a bit of heat, will be an ideal choice. A popular variation is also to sprinkle chips with finely grated cheese, which gives them an additional creamy texture. Optionally, fresh herbs such as rosemary or parsley can add a wonderful aroma to the chips.
