Sigh, barely done with one holiday and I’m already prepared to celebrate the next. While I myself am not Jewish (though power to all those Jewish Vietnamese families out there), I consider myself a bit of an honorary Jew. Well, if you count attending 10+ bar/bat mitzvahs, living in AEPi my entire senior year of college, and having mad respect for 8 nights of presents. With Hanukkah just around the corner, I have the perfect excuse to whip up some yummy latkes. This year, I decided to mix it up by making taro latkes and in my humble opinion, they were even tastier and crispier than my usual potato pancakes. That’s because taro is much starchier than the average potato, resulting in a crunchier latke. Plus, taro is higher in fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A and C than potato, allowing you to feel slightly less guilty about noshing an entire batch on your own.
Here’s a few more tips to help you on your way to the crispiest latkes you’ve ever had.
- Use a hand grater to grate your taro. I’ve found that using a food processor blade makes the grated pieces too stringy and clumpy.
- Instead of placing your grated taro on a paper towel and wringing out the water, lay a thin layer on top of a few paper towels and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Doing so speeds up drying without clumping and mushing everything together in the paper towel.
- Start with just 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and slowly add more as you go. Dropping your latkes in an oil bath almost guarantees burnt outsides and mushy insides.
- Spread the grated taro out in the frying pan as thinly as possible. I recommend spooning no more than 2-3 tablespoons for each latke.
- DO NOT use a spatula to flatten your pancakes at any point!
Congratulations! You’re on your way to some tasty taro latkes! Now just indulge in a little bit of tangy Sriracha and lime cream sauce and celebrate the season deliciously.
