Category: Recipes,Snacks | Post by: Andrea Wong
I'm certainly no rugby fanatic (nor do I pretend that I understand all the rules) - but it's been great getting amongst all the Rugby World Cup hype and having some fun.
Over the many years that I have been with Mr H, my progression of rugby watching has been slow and painful. I have gone from never watching rugby; to going to friends' places to watch but I bring my knitting; to half watching; and finally to where I am now: watching most of the time but occasionally catch myself daydreaming (unless Sonny Bill Williams rips his shirt, of course).
So although the RWC is all about the game, I'm quite excited about the buzz that it's created. On opening night I braved the trains where it took an hour to travel the 10kms into town and another hour to walk from Britomart to Wynyard Quarter where Mr H was. But wow, there was such a vibe on Quay Street!
If you're at home getting ready to enjoy the game with some mates, it would be nice to put on some non-fussy food to go with your beer. You could chop up a bag of spuds and chuck them in the fryer for some d'lish hot chips. And pair it up with some mayonnaise and Hot Samoan Boys (chilli sauce, not Sonny Bill!) and you're all set.
I got the idea of three-times cooked potato chips from the MasterChef Australia episode with Heston Blumenthal. I didn't transcribe the recipe unfortunately but after a bit of experimentation, I think that I've come with with a good chip.
Start with a good floury potato - the humble Agria is perfect for this. For the frying, I used canola oil which is nice and light and with a high smoke point.
You can do all but the final frying in advance. The spuds are cut, boiled, cooled and then fried twice. Cooling the potatoes in the fridge dries them out a little, which helps make them nice and fluffy when fried.
Try and choose potatoes that are as rectangular as possible if you want to make restaurant-style chips. I cut the edges off, so that you are left with a neat rectangle of potato. Then cut the chips into whatever size you like. I usually cook up the skin and "unpretty" pieces of potato... there's no need to waste! But they didn't make it into the final photoshoot because Mr H and I fried them up the night before to accompany our burgers. oops.
The first fry is at a lower temperature and the second fry is higher, to get that crunch and colour.
Mix up whatever mayonnaise that you have in the fridge with a couple of teaspoons of Hot Samoan Boys chilli sauce and you are sorted.
Thrice cooked chips with Hot Samoan Boys mayonnaise
Serves 4
Ingredients
6 potatoes
500ml canola oil
3 tsp salt
1 cup mayonnaise
3-5 tsp Hot Samoan Boys chilli sauce (or your favourite hot sauce)
extra salt
Directions
Steps 1-6 can be done in advance and the final fry (steps 7-9) can be done just before kickoff or during half time.
- Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil
- Scrub the potatoes, cut the edges to form a rectangle of potato
- Add the first measure of salt when the water is boiling and add the potatoes. Cook on a gentle boil for 10 mins or until the potatoes are 1/2 - 3/4 cooked (not too firm and not falling apart when poked with a knife)
- Place the potatoes in a single layer, on a cooling rack for a few minutes then put it in the fridge for at least 30 mins
- Heat the oil in a large pot to 160ºc
- Fry the potatoes in batches, for 5 mins per batch. They should look lightly fried but not coloured
- Heat the oil to 185ºc and refry the chips in batches for 6 mins per batch, or until golden brown
- Drain the chips on paper towels and salt lightly while the chips are still hot
- Mix the mayonnaise with the chilli sauce. Use less or more sauce, according to taste.
Serve with beer and eat immediately with friends while watching rugby.
