Potatoes for fries / chips in Thailand

[DPKANKAN]

Buy some Pork fat on/off the skin and render it in the Microwave. Lo and behold Pork Dripping. Par boil and refrigerate the potatoes. Then heat the dripping to boiling. Make sure the spuds are bone dry and there you go...????????????????????????????????

[bbudd]

Generally possible to get great fries from Thai spuds

Local green grocer now carry's the unwashed spuds in a box-large size  brown skin

Fried up a big batch last nite in sunflower oil

Took a while to cook but came out nice and brown and crispy

A step up from the usual washed potatoes we usually get in plastic bags

[bbko]

33 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Some times after I fry them, I mix them with scrambled eggs and scallions and make an omelet. Have you ever tried that?

My son and I love this hearty breakfast meal but we do it slightly different, cooked fries/chips mixed in with scrambled eggs no scallions, sprinkle with salt.  Aloy mak mak.

[bbko]

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Edited December 10, 2021 by bbko

[bbko]

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[bbko]

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[KhunLA]

Unsuccessful at homemade, find Makro 'Best' 10mm turn out better than homemade.  That brand offers 7 & 10mm, preference 10mm as obviously more potato flavor. 

 

Timed 6 or 7 minutes deep fried for best results, or 2x 3 minutes with cooling period in between, some say crispier, but seriously don't notice it that much, or feel like waiting.

Edited December 10, 2021 by KhunLA

[JRG23]

Buster's Fish & Chips (Sukumvit 33/1) is pretty good.

[snowgard]

The shops don't care which variety you like or want. There is only one type of potato on sale.
So buy it or leave it. That's your onliest choice.

Alternatively you can buy 2kg packs of french frites in Makro for 89,- to 175,- THB.

https://www.makroclick.com/en/search-results/?keyword=fries

Edited December 10, 2021 by snowgard

[Bogbrush]

On 12/8/2021 at 10:12 PM, Kenny202 said:

You didn't read my op? Have used old and new oil and we got plenty of frozen fries in the freezer. Homemade cut potatoes are different...not necessarily better but different

I think you’ll find your problem will not go away if you continue to use oil of any description. Par boiling is good, as is ‘double cooking’, and it’s appreciated the potatoes available aren’t 100% fit for purpose, but you won’t get a great chip unless you cook in lard. Animal fat is essential, mainly because it boils at a far lower temperature. Give it a go!

[dddave]

On 12/8/2021 at 9:27 PM, tomazbodner said:

A while back I saw how to make "McDonald's fries" and they washed them a few times to get all the starch off, then soaked them in cool water with a few tablespoons of sugar, dried and fried. Logic was that sugar coating would cause caramelising during frying, making fries crispy and golden colour. Never tried myself. Was on some Thai Youtube site a while back...

There is also 2 stage frying process, kind of like par boiling but in oil. 

 

I remember many years ago, when McDonalds was first expanding into Europe they had to spend millions of dollars (back when a million was serious money) to get local government approvals to bring in a special potato variety because all the  European potato varieties available at the time had too high a moisture content and would not properly crisp-up.

[dddave]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Unsuccessful at homemade, find Makro 'Best' 10mm turn out better than homemade.  That brand offers 7 & 10mm, preference 10mm as obviously more potato flavor. 

 

Timed 6 or 7 minutes deep fried for best results, or 2x 3 minutes with cooling period in between, some say crispier, but seriously don't notice it that much, or feel like waiting.

I like the thinner 7mm "shoestring" fries.  I spray them with a fine mist of oil from an aerosol can of cooking oil and cook them in my "Air Fryer" on "High" for about 10 to 15 minutes, tossing them a bit half-way.  Crisp and tasty as long as you don't crowd the pan.

[BritManToo]

33 minutes ago, dddave said:

I like the thinner 7mm "shoestring" fries.  I spray them with a fine mist of oil from an aerosol can of cooking oil and cook them in my "Air Fryer" on "High" for about 10 to 15 minutes, tossing them a bit half-way.  Crisp and tasty as long as you don't crowd the pan.

Most frozen chips sold in Thailand are already covered in oil.

No need to add more.

Edited December 10, 2021 by BritManToo

[KhunLA]

17 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Most frozen chips sold in Thailand are already covered in oil.

No need to add more.

I've baked and pan fried chips, just not the same and deep fried wins.

[superal]

On 12/8/2021 at 2:02 PM, Upnotover said:

I used to make my own frozen chips.  Par boil, dry, fry once low temp.  Then freeze.  Fry high temp from frozen.  Usually came out pretty well.  I found that frying once did often brown them too fast and not crisp.  Could also do the second fry from cool if not freezing.

My lady has a restaurant 60% Thai 40% farang customers . I normally make the chips exactly as you described above plus sometimes I make potato wedges that are topped with paprika prior to serving , very tasty . I have given free to the Thai customers home made chips to try but they prefer french fries . French fries are consistent in their form and taste , unlike the home made chips that I will only make if I can buy some large potatoes of decent quality ( normally Makro ) . Most spuds come from China and are normally good but I have had some that were black inside and were chucked out . IMO you cannot beat a homemade chip with a little malt vinegar .

[CLW]

As already mentioned for special potato varieties you have to look at Villa or Central / Tops Food hall.

Going to be expensive and I am not sure it's really worth it.

I have done great French Fries / Chips with ordinary potatoes from Makro.

I cut them by hand and parboil them for 6 minutes in water with two spoons of vinegar.

Then either sprinkle some oil and air fry or deep fry in canola oil.

 

The best brand of french fries here is either the one in the brown bag from Holland at Makro (forgot the name but they have many potato products from this brand) or another one with the american flag on the bag (both shoestring and thick cut). They are produced in India and taste especially good from the air fryer. There is almost no difference to deep fried ones.

[SunsetT]

I dont know why but the spuds sold here always seem to be the same variety which you have described perfectly. I suspect they have been chosen because, as you say, they are slightly sweet, to suit Thai taste. Somewhere along the line they have, probably plucked from their very creative imaginations, the idea that all Farang savouries like pastries, pies and pizzas should be sweet. (I have a theory that the 1st Thai to see a pizza abroad mistook the cheese for salad cream, hence the sickly sweet abominations on sale here ever since. They look delicious but I have learned not to touch them with a barge pole. Even with the chains coming in selling the real thing, they still continue to sell the awful sweet Thai versions. ) Anyway, back to the spuds. Many years ago Makro sometimes offered another really good non-sweet variety of hard white potatoes absurdly sold cheaper as inferior, Grade 2, or the like. This unfortunately did not last long. However I noticed just recently that they are also selling red-skinned potatoes, which look like the 'reds' I buy in the 'UK'. I have roasted some and they, though yellow inside, are not so sweet and did crisp up as the 'floury' Reds do in the UK. So I hope they keep selling them. Some nice white potatoes used to be sold at weekly 'Laos' markets in Thailand on the Mekong.

 

I did frequent an English 'Fuzzy Ken's /bar/restaurant in Udon who sold big chunky 'chips' (like potato wedges) which were quite crispy. I think they used to boil them, then store them in the fridge or freezer, then deep fry them for sale.

[Pdavies99]

On 12/9/2021 at 12:29 AM, BritManToo said:

I always buy the frozen chips in Makro, usually 99bht for 2Kg, although last month they were 75bht.

I cook them in an air fryer ........ no oil at all, and they taste pretty good with a dollop of HP sauce.

 

[Pdavies99]

1 minute ago, Pdavies99 said:

 

If you want great "chips" then you need great potatoes and type, sadly no much choice in Thailand.

 

However, it is also about what you fry them in....oil...never.

 

The best way to fry chips is with lard or fat.....I find a great way is to render down some pork belly fat strips (easily done in a microwave) and use this fat for frying.

 

In fact, you will be surprised how much better tasting everything is frying with pork fat!

 

Give it a try!

[JensenZ]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:16 AM, SiSePuede419 said:

Coconut oil is expensive at Big C, compared to Canola oil.  Are you in Thailand?

 

Besides, coconut oil changes the taste.  Have you tasted fries fried in coconut oil?

It's around 100 baht per litre in all supermarkets. Is that too expensive for you? You know it's coconut oil because it's solid in most air conditioned stores with a freezing  point of 25C. 

 

You should re-read my comment, because it should be obvious I fry my own fries in it and there is no coconut flavour in cooking coconut oil. Perhaps you're mistaking it for the much more expensive virgin coconut oil which costs over 4 times as much, and is heat sensitive. Cooking coconut oil has been deorderised.

 

You can read more about the refining process here: https://www.goodness.com.au/blog/what-is-purified-deodorised-coconut-oil/

 

 

[Kenny202]

1 minute ago, JensenZ said:

It's around 100 baht per litre in all supermarkets. Is that too expensive for you? You know it's coconut oil because it's solid in most air conditioned stores with a freezing  point of 25C. 

 

You should re-read my comment, because it should be obvious I fry my own fries in it and there is no coconut flavour in cooking coconut oil. Perhaps you're mistaking it for the much more expensive virgin coconut oil which costs over 4 times as much, and is heat sensitive. Cooking coconut oil has been deorderised.

 

You can read more about the refining process here: https://www.goodness.com.au/blog/what-is-purified-deodorised-coconut-oil/

 

 

Well its at least double the price of soy oil. If I was going to spend the money on more expensive oil I'd get peanut myself

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Kenny202

[JensenZ]

54 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Well its at least double the price of soy oil. If I was going to spend the money on more expensive oil I'd get peanut myself

 

But you don't spend extra money, do you? You go for cheapest you can get... so other than for argument's sake, what is the point of your comment unless you explain why you would (hypothetically) buy peanut oil, which, as you already made clear, you don't.

 

You cannot compare coconut cooking oil with peanut cooking oil as it is about twice as expensive. Just to be clear, this discussion is about deep frying oil, and peanut oil, even if you could suggest a good reason why it's better, is too expensive (for deep frying). I might consider if for stir frying if there was a good reason for it. 

 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by JensenZ

[Meat Pie 47]

On 12/8/2021 at 10:02 PM, Upnotover said:

I used to make my own frozen chips.  Par boil, dry, fry once low temp.  Then freeze.  Fry high temp from frozen.  Usually came out pretty well.  I found that frying once did often brown them too fast and not crisp.  Could also do the second fry from cool if not freezing.

You are correct I do soak my fries in water for many hours or overnight wash them to get rid of the starch, dry them fry them in low temperature oil first then at high temperature the second time to get them nice and crispy I think you can do this with Thai potatoes as well. It's just the way you fry them. I am talking about fresh potatoes using a french fry cutter.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Meat Pie 47
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