Matcha Sea Salt Fries with Sriracha Ketchup

matcha fries w napkiFrench fries are the ultimate comfort food.  As plentiful as fries are at restaurants and fast food places, I almost never order them.  For some strange reason I feel that I’m only entitled to eat fries if I’ve put in a proper amount of time and effort into making them.  Knowing that I’ll have to go the extra mile to get that perfect fry assures that I always eat them at their best, freshest, and crispest, and more importantly it helps to limit the frequency that I eat them.

Consider these fries to be an Asian twist on a classic.  In the kitchen, matcha is easily added to blended drinks and baked goods–it’s less common to find it used in savory form.  The matcha sea salt in this recipe goes well as a condiment not only for fries, but for dusting over other similar snacks like chips, popcorn, snacking crackers, and even rice.  Matcha salt lends a subtle, earthy, veggie-like flavor to the french fries.  If you’ve ever checked out the snack section at your Japanese food market, these fries remind me of seaweed-sprinkled potato chips, except much more delicious!

One more ingredient that I’ve thrown into this matcha salt mix is some cayenne pepper as my hubby and I love some kick in our food.  The earthiness of the matcha balances out the heat of the pepper powder really nicely so that the heat you really taste comes from the spicy Sriracha Ketchup that’s served along with the fries!

If you want to lower the heat a notch I’d suggest playing around with the amounts of cayenne and Sriracha used.  I wouldn’t take them out completely though, because they definitely add something special to this homemade treat.
It’s the weekend!  Churn out a basket of these beautiful hot frites for your friends and they will love you that much more.  Remember, only one potato per person!  It’s true, good things come in small batches.  And just as you would sip and savor a hot cup of frothy matcha, nibble and indulge in these Matcha salt fries, knowing that they aren’t so easy to come by.  Slow down and take time to enjoy…with a snack as delicious as this there’s just no other way it should be done!

Spicy Matcha Shoestring Fries

One potato = 1 batch = fries for one.

Ingredients:

{Shoestring Fries}

1 medium russet potato

peanut oil for frying

{Matcha sea salt}

***This amount makes enough for 4-6 batches of fries

1 1/2 tsp matcha powder

1 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

{Sriracha Ketchup}

2 Tbsp ketchup

small squirt of Sriracha

Equipment:

mandolin with julienne attachment or chef’s knife

large cutting board

large pot for frying

small bowl

thermometer for oil

paper towels

baking sheet

tongs or Chinese wire mesh strainer

Directions:

1.) Using mandolin or chef’s knife, cut potato lengthwise, into uniformly thick (as much as possible) skinny shoestring fries, with a thickess of 1/8″.  After the potato is cut, use paper towels to blot the surfaces of the potato pieces dry.  In a small bowl, mix together matcha, salt, and cayenne pepper.

2.)  Pour oil into a large frying pot so that it goes up the sides about 1″-1 1/2″.  Heat oil to a temperature of 400 degrees F.  When oil hits 400 degrees, place half of uncooked potato sticks into the pot gently.

Cook for 1 minute, then remove the pieces with tongs/strainer onto a paper towel lined baking sheet.  Bring oil temperature back to 400 degrees, and repeat the process with the other half of the uncooked potato sticks.

3.)  With all the potato pieces now par-fried (the potato is cooked, but not yet crisp), bring the oil temperature back to 400 degrees once again.  Place half of the par-fried potato pieces into the hot oil and cook for about a minute, or until golden brown.  Remove and place on the paper towel lined baking sheet, placing some new paper towels down if necessary.  Bring oil temperature back up to 400 degrees, then repeat this process with the other half of the par-fried potato pieces, removing after a minute when fries become golden brown, then place on the baking sheet with paper towels.

4.)  After the fries have blotted on the paper towels, scatter the fries with the matcha salt to taste.  In another small bowl, mix together the ketchup and sriracha.  Serve fries hot with spicy ketchup and enjoy!

making matcha fries 5

<< PREVIOUS POST NEXT POST >>