Lao Di Fang–Nostalgia Restaurant
The perfect French fries
How many of you actually tried to make your own French fries and failed? You probably thought it’s just slicing the potatoes into sticks and then just throwing them into hot oil and they will magically come out as delicious crispy fries with a fluffy interior. But there’s a science to the perfect homemade French fries. I will show you important steps required.
Choose Russett or Older potatoes
Russett, Idaho or older potatoes are better because they are starchier and has a lower water content. They are sometimes labeled as baking potatoes. You should also cut them into uniform sizes – I usually cut them to about 0.5 cm thick.
Pre-cook the fries in water.
A lot of questions were asked whether one should precook the fries before deep frying them. The answer is yes. This achieves two things – first it tries to remove the excess starch on the surface of the fries which helps to reduce browning, so your fries will have a light gold colour, which looks more appealing and it also helps to activate pectin, which holds the French fries in their shape. According to food science – the best temperature of your cooking would be 170 Fahrenheit or 76.6 Celsius, as after that temperature, pectin would be deactivated. The perfect fries would need to be cooked at that temperature for 15 minutes.
For ones like me who had an immersion circulator to control the water temperature – that would be easy – but it’s not regular household kitchen equipment. However, there’s another way to counter this problem.
A way to strengthen the pectic is acidity – so you can counter this problem by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar per litre of water to your cooking water. That way – you do not need to worry about your water temperature. Just cook your potatoes over the acidic boiling water for 10 minutes. The potatoes should be tender but not easily broken apart – firm texture. Leave them to dry for 5 minutes on towels. And nope – we’re not done yet.
Fry the fries twice!
Most chefs and online recipes argued that the best fries are fried twice, at different temperatures. This is to ensure a crispier texture – but if you were to cook your fries just like that – you’re still missing something. The concept of double frying your French fries is correct – but there’s one more step you should do.
Freeze the fries!
Fries that were deep fried once and then allowed to freeze in the freezer – then refried – taste better! Another advantage is that you can make a big batch and keep them in your freezer – and you can have perfect fries anytime! Just take them out of the freezer and deep fry them!
Let’s review the steps
First off, choose starchy potatoes with lower water content such as Russett and cut them into 0.5cm thickness, uniform sizes. Boil them in vinegar water for 10 minutes. Deep fry them in batches and then freeze them overnight. Take them out of the freezer and deep fry straight away! There you go! Your perfect fries!
Ingredients
- 1kg russet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch fries shape – wash first and then soak the potatoes in a bowl of water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- Salt
- Canola or grapeseed oil for frying (Duck fat or pork fat for that extra oomph if you like)
Directions
1. Place potatoes and vinegar in saucepan and add around 2 litres of water and 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 10 minutes.
2. Potatoes should be fully tender, but not falling apart. Drain and spread on paper towel-lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to dry for five minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large wok over high heat to 400°F or 205°C.
4. Add 1/3 of fries to oil (oil temperature should drop to around 360°F or 182°C). Cook for 50 seconds, stirring occasionally with a wire mesh spider, then remove to second paper-towel lined rimmed baking sheet.
5. Repeat with remaining potatoes (working in two more batches), allowing oil to return to 400°F after each addition. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
6. Arrange the fries on trays in the freezer and store in bags after they are frozen.
7. Let the heat of the oil reach 400°F or 205°C. Fry the frozen fries in batches until crisp and light golden brown, about 3 1/2 minutes, adjusting heat to maintain at around 360°F or 182°C .
8. Drain in a bowl lined with paper towels and season immediately with salt. At this stage, you can add various spices and toppings to your fries such as garlic powder, cayenne pepper or even parmesan cheese!
9. Cooked fries can be kept hot and crisp on a wire rack set on a sheet tray in a 200°F oven while second batch is cooked. Serve hot and crispy! Yum!
Hai Wai Tien Restaurant
Hai Wai Tien is located on the same block as Thien Thien and Pizza Hut Gadong – next to Booker International Bookstore or directly opposite Pondok Sari Wangi. It’s one of the best place to have Sau Rou (roasted crispy pork belly) and Char Siew. Their Sau Pai Kut (roasted spare ribs) are delicious as well! This restaurant gives Golden Leaf Restaurant (another favourite place of mine for roasted pork) a big challenge!
Bunker Bistro’s New Menu
Quite a number of people did not know that Bunker Bistro, which is located at the Empire’s Country Club (Gym and Golf Area) is actually open to the public for dining in! It’s quite easy to find – just turn left on the first junction after you drive pass the security guard house of Empire.
The Bunker Bistro operates from 10am to 10pm on Monday to Thursday meanwhile starts with breakfast at 6.30am on Friday to Sunday, closing at 10pm. For further information or reservations, please contact Bunker Bistro at 241 8888.
Bunker Bistro boasts an upscale grand ambience and a great selection from their newly revamped menu – also to showcase their new French Pastry Chef’s desserts! I had the pleasure of trying them out during lunch~ There are so many good reasons to check out this new place~
A good place to sit down for a business meeting ~~
Or just to hang out with friends ~~ and have a good chat
You can also laze around the comfy sofas and have coffee and dessert! Or we just simply want to check out and enjoy the food! Let’s move to the appetizers!
The nachos which were served with chili con carne and melted cheese is a yummy appetizer or just a snack while you chat and hang out with your friends!
A platter of assorted appetizers: seafood roll, wonton, vegetarian samosa and bbq chicken spring rolls.
Delicious honey glazed chicken wings~~
I was also told the Bunker Bistro has a very delicious Caesar Salad, which comes highly recommended but I did not get to try it for lunch this time (too many dishes already!)
They have a lot of different types of sandwiches, wraps and burgers in their menu, served with your choice of french fries or salad greens . This one is a foccacia bread sandwich, with roasted bell peppers, marinated mushrooms with melted camembert cheese! Vegetarian’s sandwich!
Aged cheddar cheese burger with beef bacon and ratatouille slaw!
The pita lamb wrap, served with caramelized onions and tzaziki dip
Chicken quesadilla, served with guacamole and tomato salsa
This is my favorite sandwich! Roast beef slices with a black peppery kick , fused well with the tangy sweet red onion jam and sandwiched by a healthy muesli bread! Delicious!
For their mains, I was told by some friends who dined there before that their stir fried tenderloin kway teow which is served with a sunny side up egg and their chicken rice are must tries! Unfortunately, I did not get to try these but I get to try other dishes!
Wild mushrooms and cream sauce penne pasta with lots of shaved cheese! YUM!
Beef tenderloin steaks cooked to my favorite medium rare stage and served with potato leek ragout and shallot reduction, I particularly like how juicy the steaks were and that crispy shredded onions on top!
Some restaurants disappoint with overcooked salmon, which tends to be too dry and flaky but the salmon dish we had was perfectly cooked and served with delicious mango salsa – a great combination!
On to the desserts! It never fails to get people excited – I must say I am quite impressed by the presentation of the desserts – prepared by the new French Pastry Chef!
This is the cinnamon caramel cake, which has a coconut sauce ~~
Chocolate marble cake with passion fruit sauce and ‘after eight’ ice cream~
Most people would like this apple pannacotta with white chocolate chantilly, shredded apple and chunks of crispy sweet meringue! Playing with different textures, sweetness and flavours of the apple!
Last but not least is my favorite dessert! I am bias because I simply love mascarpone cheese cakes! This is a heavenly strawberry mascarpone cheesecake, served with a green tea sauce and mango jelly!
It was quite a filling lunch for me and I must say I will definitely come here again to try some of their other dishes! As highlighted – it does offer great posh ambience and good food – whether you’re having a meeting, having high tea with friends or just want to relax and unwind on your own ~ check out Bunker Bistro at Empire’s Country Club.
2 comments :
Post a Comment