How to cook the perfect hot chip
In the annals of world cuisine, has there ever been a thing so abject yet so wonderful as the chip? It is the culinary handmaiden to steak, to fish, to the football. It's a seemingly simple subject, but scratch the crisp-golden surface and it's a mighty big topic where a little bit of thought goes a long way.
It was Heston Blumenthal, of course, who upon deciding the chip needed to be put through the scientific wringer, went off and invented the triple-cooked chip ("The first recipe I could call my own," he has reportedly dubbed it). However, this recipe for the triple-cooked chip has ever since been colonising top restaurants one menu at a time, often referred to rather poshly as "thrice-cooked”.
The recipe: Rob Kabboord’s triple cooked chips
- Cut your chips – Kabboord prefers to use a mandolin.
- Rinse them to get rid of some of the starch.
- Put chips in lightly salted boiling water and cook until soft (about five to six minutes).
- Drain and let them dry a little (Blumenthal's version first chills them in the freezer to get rid of as much moisture as possible) then put them in hot oil at 140 degrees Celsius. Cook in small batches so the temperature of the oil doesn't drop too much. "They will take another six minutes or so. You can check them – there should be no crunch or colour yet, but they will be cooked and soft all the way through. You can then reserve them without going grey (oxidising) in the fridge until you are ready for them."
- To finish, fry until golden in oil heated to about 180 degrees Celsius. Put them on absorbent paper to soak up any excess fat, then garnish with salt.
What sauce do you like your hot chips to be served with? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Larissa Dubecki. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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