Thai-style Crispy Potato Waffles with Prawns and Maple Chilli Oil
These Thai-style potato waffles are my final iteration of a recipe that evolved from the potato pancakes my Mom served us as a Sunday breakfast treat. Those pancakes were made from grated potato, flour, and egg yolks, with stiffly beaten egg whites folded in just prior to cooking. They were bite-sized and so easy to devour by the dozen with bacon and maple syrup. The recipe migrated with me from Canada to Australia in 1984. Later, after we bought a property next to a tidal river in 2000, my husband Matthew proudly presented me with a giant mud crab he'd caught off our jetty. I had no idea what to do with it. In the end I made him scrub the 5mm of slime off the crab, cook it, break it up, and pick all the meat out. After all that work, he presented me with all of about 200g of crab meat. How was I supposed to feed a family of 5 with that?
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle (or Thermomix or personal blender with strong motor)
- Food processor with medium grater disc (or box grater)
- Waffle iron
- Electric beaters
- Nut milk bag (or cheesecloth)
- Wire rack (for holding waffles in oven)
- Mandolin with cut-resistant glove or hand guard (optional)
- Microplane (optional)
Ingredients
Fried shallot tartare sauce:
- 250 ml full-fat mayonnaise
- 1 lime (zest and juice)
- 4-5 cornichons
- 1 tablespoon baby capers
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves
- 2 tablespoons crispy fried shallots
- White pepper
Thai-style potato waffles:
- 8 spring onions
- 2 long red chillies
- 2 large fresh makrut lime leaves
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 15 cm piece fresh ginger
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 1 large bunch of coriander (stems only)
- 2 kg Sebago potatoes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil
Herb salad and assembly:
- 12-18 large cooked prawns
- 200 ml crunchy chilli oil
- 200 ml maple syrup
- Small bunch fresh mint
- Small bunch fresh sweet basil
- Reserved coriander leaves
- 3 large golden shallots
- 2 long red chillies
- 2 tablespoons fried shallots
Instructions
Fried shallot tartare sauce:
- Measure 250ml full-fat mayonnaise into a medium-sized bowl.
- Zest the lime with a Microplane and add to the bowl. Juice the lime and set aside.
- Finely chop 4–5 cornichons and 1 tablespoon baby capers and add to the bowl, along with 1 crushed garlic clove.
- Add 1 tablespoon each of finely chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves.
- Finally, add 2 tablespoons crispy fried shallots.
- Stir the tartare sauce until well combined.
- Add 1–2 teaspoons of the reserved lime juice to taste and season with finely ground white pepper. Refrigerate until required.
Part 1 waffle mix—aromatics:
- Pound or process 2 stalks of lemongrass, snip the 2 large fresh makrut lime leaves into the bowl and continue, then add a 15cm piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped, and 2 large garlic cloves, and continue processing or pounding.
- Deseed and roughly chop 2 long red chillies and roughly chop 8 spring onions (white and light green parts only). Remove the stems from 1 large bunch of well-washed coriander, roughly chop the stems, and reserve the coriander leaves for the herb salad.
- Add the chillies, spring onions, and coriander stems to the other aromatics and continue pounding or processing until the mixture stops short of a paste — the individual ingredients should still be identifiable.
- The aromatic mixture can be made a few hours ahead and kept in the fridge in a sealed container until required.
Herb salad prep and maple chilli oil:
- Peel 3 large golden shallots and slice them thinly using a mandolin—alternatively, slice them as thinly as possible with a small paring knife.
- Pick the coriander and mint leaves from their stems and keep them rolled between paper towels in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the herb salad.
- Leave prepping the sweet basil leaves until the last minute, as they bruise easily and will start to turn black if overhandled.
- Thinly slice the 2 long red chillies, removing the seeds first if you prefer a milder chilli addition to the salad.
- Make the maple chilli oil by whisking together 200ml crunchy chilli oil and 200ml maple syrup. The maple chilli oil is best served at room temperature.
- If you're using green prawns, peel them at this stage, remembering to leave the tail on, and keep them refrigerated until you're ready to steam or grill them.
Part 2 waffle mix—grating potatoes and finishing the mix:
- When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 95°C–110°C fan forced to hold the cooked waffles and keep them crisp while you work through the batches.
- Also preheat your waffle iron to its highest setting while you finish the waffle mix.
- Peel 2kg Sebago potatoes if not done ahead.
- Do not grate the potatoes until just before you want to cook the waffles—grated potato goes from white to purple and then grey very quickly.
- Separate 4 large eggs, with the yolks and whites in separate bowls.
- If the coconut oil is in solid form, gently melt ½ cup in the microwave and leave it to cool on the benchtop.
- You will need 2 large bowls at this stage.
- Dry the peeled potatoes with a clean tea towel and grate on a medium grater into the first large bowl—I use my food processor fitted with the medium grater disc to get this done quickly, then tip the grated potato into the bowl.
- Sprinkle the grated potato with 2 teaspoons salt and mix well.
- Then add 2 handfuls of grated potato into a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, twist and squeeze out as much liquid as possible back into the first bowl.
- Empty the squeezed potato into the second large bowl. Repeat until all the grated potato has been transferred to the second bowl.
- Do not discard the liquid in the first bowl. Let the potato starch settle to the bottom, then carefully drain off the liquid.
- Add the 4 egg yolks, the aromatic mixture, and 2 tablespoons fish sauce to the potato starch in the first bowl and mix until well combined.
- Add the grated potato from the second bowl and mix well—I use my very clean hands!
- Drizzle in the coconut oil and mix again.
- Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites in a separate medium-sized bowl until firm peaks form. Add ⅓ of the egg white to the grated potato mixture and stir well to loosen it. Then carefully fold through the remaining egg whites with a large metal spoon until just combined.
- Start cooking your waffles immediately.
Cooking the waffles:
- Loosely fill a ⅓ cup measure with the waffle mix, squeezing out any excess liquid before adding it to the waffle iron.
- If your waffle iron is non-stick there is no need to add any oil before cooking. But if you want to ramp up the crispy decadence and are using a deep waffle iron, you can add 1–2 tablespoons of coconut oil to each section of the waffle iron.
- Loosen the mix with an offset spatula to promote some ragged, crispy edges before closing the waffle iron firmly.
- Cooking time is between 8–10 minutes and I turn the waffles after about six minutes to ensure an even golden-brown finish on both sides. These waffles are actually hard to overcook, but bear in mind you may be holding them in the oven for a while before serving.
- Transfer the cooked waffles onto a rack in the preheated oven at 95°C–110°C fan forced to hold them until you are ready to serve.
Assembling and serving:
- Place 2–3 waffles onto each plate, depending on whether serving as an entrée or main course. Drizzle waffles with some of the maple chilli oil
- Top with the prawns—cooked to your liking if using fresh green prawns, or cold cooked prawns from your favourite seafood market work beautifully here too.
- Pile the herb salad on top—simply the reserved coriander and mint leaves, sweet basil, and thinly sliced golden shallots tossed together.
- Finish with a drizzle of maple chilli oil and a scattering of fried shallots and sliced fresh red chilli. Serve with extra maple chilli oil, lime wedges, and the fried shallot tartare on the side.
Just before you cook with abandon…
Get organised: mise en place: I'm an adherent to the French cooking principle of mise en place—everything in its place. Having your ingredients and equipment ready before you start isn't just for professional kitchens; it's how you keep home cooking calm and consistent. Measuring, prepping and setting everything out before the first step is the difference between cooking and chaos.
Make ahead: The fried shallot tartare sauce, aromatic mixture, and peeled potatoes can all be prepared ahead—the tartare and aromatics refrigerated in sealed containers; the potatoes submerged in water in the fridge. Do not grate the potatoes until just before you're ready to cook—grated potato discolours quickly.
Sebago potatoes: Sebago is a floury, high-starch potato and the right choice for crispy waffles. Coliban or King Edward are good substitutes—both are commonly available and similarly starchy.
Do not skip the squeeze: Removing as much liquid as possible from the grated potato is the most important step in this recipe. The drier the potato, the crispier the waffle. A nut milk bag or cheesecloth makes this significantly easier than trying to squeeze by hand.
Keep the potato starch: The liquid you drain off after squeezing holds the potato starch that has settled to the bottom. Do not discard the potato starch—this starch helps the waffles cook extra crispy.
Waffle iron temperature: Preheat your waffle iron to its highest setting before you start cooking. A properly preheated iron is the difference between a crispy waffle and a soggy one.
Holding the waffles: Preheat the oven to 95°C–110°C fan forced before you start cooking. Transfer each cooked waffle to a wire rack in the oven to hold—a rack rather than a tray keeps air circulating underneath so the waffles stay crisp rather than steaming on the bottom.
Prawns: Fresh green prawns cooked to your liking or cold cooked prawns from your favourite seafood market both work well. If using green prawns, peel them before you start cooking the waffles and keep them refrigerated until required.
Sweet basil: Leave prepping the sweet basil until the last minute—it bruises easily and will start to turn black if overhandled.
Maple chilli oil: Make this ahead and serve at room temperature. It keeps well and is just as good the next day—if there's any left.