Sweet and sour fried chrysanthemum potatoes

Method

1. To make the chrysanthemum-shaped potatoes, firstly cut the potatoes into cuboid shapes of 3.7cm(w) x 3.7cm(l) x 4.9cm(h)/1.46in(w) x 1.46in(l) x 1.93in(h). While cutting the rest of the potatoes make sure the cut potatoes are fully submerged in cold, salted water.

2. Once the potatoes are cut into cubes, next take one potato cube and place it onto a chopping board, with the height of the potato standing up. Cut slices of 2mm thick all along the length of the potato, making sure not to cut all the way through, leaving at least a 3mm base uncut. To help, you can use two chopsticks either side of the potato as a guide having them sandwich the potato. Once you hit the chopstick it will prevent you from cutting all the way through the potato.

3. Now turn the potato 90 degrees and slice the potato the same way again. After this the potato should have a lattice pattern.

4. Once the potatoes are cut, submerge them again in cold, salted water to allow any excess starch to be removed as well as preventing it from browning. Let the potatoes soak while the sauce is being prepared.

5. To make the sauce, combine the white vinegar, sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and tangeribe peel together in a saucepan. Put the pan over a medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

6. Lower the temperature and reduce the sauce until there is a change in consistency – it should be slightly thicker.

7. You can also control the consistency of the sauce by using a cornstarch slurry. Cornstarch slurry consists of equal amounts of cornstarch to equal amounts of cold water, stir the mixture together until there are no more lumps left.

8. If using the cornstarch slurry, slowly pour a little bit of slurry mixture into the sweet and sour sauce, making sure to stir well after adding each time. you can always add more, but it’s very difficult to take out.

9. Once the sauce is to your liking, you can remove it from the heat as set aside while you prepare to fry the chrysanthemum-shaped potatoes.

10. Heat a deep fat fryer to 190C. If you don’t have a fryer, in a large saucepan add some neutral oil and heat it to 190C using a temperature thermometer. CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.

11. For the chrysanthemum-shaped potatoes, drain them from the water and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel or some kitchen paper.

12. Put the potato starch in a bowl. Toss the potatoes into bowl, making sure you get into every part of the potato, especially where all the cuts have been made. Shake off any excess.

13. Slowly lower the potato into the hot oil in a basket or a slotted spoon to allow the lattice pattern to open, making it look like a flower. Fry until cooked through and golden-brown. Once cooked, place the potato on a draining tray to let the excess oil drip out of the potato.

14. Now take the sweet and sour sauce and place it back on the heat just to heat it up. Once the sauce is heated, take 3 chrysanthemum-shaped potatoes and place them on a serving dish, and pour over the sweet and sour sauce (as much as you wish). Repeat this with all the potatoes.

15. Garnish with some bell peppers along the edge of the plate.