Yesterday, I had lunch at a Chinese restaurant serving Sichuan cuisine in Auckland, and the potato stir-fry Chinese style (tudou si / 土豆丝) was simply delightful. After returning home, I decided to create a recipe so we could easily make it whenever we wanted.

I went to an Asian grocery store to purchase some dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and spring onions. It is a well-balanced vegetarian dish with hot and sour flavors and the aroma of Sichuan spices, making it an excellent side dish. Moreover, it is incredibly easy to prepare and can be stir-fried in ten minutes, provided the potatoes are already soaked and washed.

Here is a detailed step-by-step guide to my recipe, which I want to share.

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1. How to prepare the potatoes before stir-frying

1. To prepare the potatoes for stir-frying, start by washing and peeling them. Then, slice off one side of the potato and place the flat side down on the chopping board. This will ensure the potato remains steady while slicing the remaining potatoes. 
2. Slice the potatoes into thin strips. Slice slowly, especially if you are doing this for the first time, as it needs some knife skills to cut them evenly.
3. Once the potatoes are sliced, place them in a pot of cold water and wash them thoroughly several times to remove the excess starch. 
4. After that, soak the shredded potatoes in cold water for twenty minutes to remove the excess starch, which helps to attain a crunchy texture.
5. After soaking, remove the potatoes and drain them in a colander

2. Preparation for other ingredients

1. To prepare the aromatic spices for the stir-fried potatoes, start by slicing the garlic cloves into thin pieces.
2. Next, cut the spring onion into thick rings and separate the green and white sections.
3. Finally, cut the dried chilies into short sections and remove the seeds if you prefer less spicy.

3. The stir-frying process

The cooking process of the Chinese potato stir-fry is straightforward once the ingredients are ready.

1. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and let it fry over low heat for two minutes. This step will infuse the oil with the peppercorn’s flavor. 
2. Strain the oil through a wire mesh strainer to remove the peppercorns. You can leave the peppercorns in the stir-fry, but I prefer removing them because I don’t want to bite the whole peppercorns accidentally. 
3. I also include Lao Gan Ma, a Sichuan chili oil with a peppercorn flavor and other spices in the recipe.
4. Heat the peppercorn and chili oil in a wok or large skillet. Sauté the white section of the spring onions (green onions), dried chilies, garlic, and ginger until aromatic. 
5. Add the drained potatoes and let the oil coat the surface of each strip. The oil will prevent the potato strips from sticking together or to the wok surface.
6. Stir-fry the potatoes over medium-high heat until they are crisp and tender. The cooking time will depend on the amount of potato and the heat generated by the stove. You can do a taste test to decide when to stop cooking. The goal is to avoid getting a crunchy texture and avoid cooking for too long until soft.
7. Season the potatoes with salt, sugar, black vinegar (Chinkiang vinegar), and light soy sauce while stir-frying them.
8. Finally, add the green section of the spring onion and stir-fry for an additional thirty seconds. Serve.

4. Additional notes for the Chinese stir-fried potatoes

• You can use a mandoline to slice it to the desired thickness.
• If you like the regular red chilies, you can use them to substitute the dried chili or use both. Dried chili has a distinct flavor different from fresh chili. Another way is to replace it with red and green bell pepper if you want to reduce the spiciness, although it will not taste the same as the original Sichuan recipe.
• Soaking and washing the thin potato strips is critical for this recipe. The process removes the excess starch and will make the potatoes crunchy after stir-frying. If you have a choice, try getting potatoes with lower starch content. The crunchiness is important to make this recipe a success.
• I have seen some recipes include sesame oil. I prefer to leave it out, as the Sichuan chili alone has all the flavor I need.
• Besides Chinkiang vinegar, rice vinegar or other white vinegar are OK. However, Chinese black vinegar is the best choice to create an authentic flavor in Chinese cooking.
• The Chinese-style sit-fry potatoes should be crunchy, not soggy, with a burst of flavor from the Sichuan peppercorns and the chili oil. The texture is more like crunchy julienned carrots than a potato chip! Therefore the julienned potatoes should cook until al dente.

You are likely to make the Chinese potato stir-fry very close to those served in Sichuan restaurants by following this recipe. This delicious dish is best as the side dish and prepare another meat dish as the main, or add a Chinese soup to serve with plain rice. That will be a complete meal for a typical Chinese family.

I hope you will like this dish, which differs from most other potato recipes. Enjoy!

5. Other related recipes to Sichuan stir-fried potatoes

Here are some other potato dishes on this blog since you like this stir-fried potato recipe.

• Aloo Matar is a classic potato and green pea curry, a popular vegetarian dish from India. 
• Braised chicken with potatoes is a traditional Cantonese dish that is easy to prepare. The flavor of chicken, potatoes, onion, and tomatoes complements each other, making it exceptionally tasty.
• ABC soup is the ultimate comfort food with chicken broth, potatoes, and other vegetables. It has a universal taste that is not spicy, making it a favorite Cantonese for the entire family. 

Yield: 3

Potato stir-fry Chinese style

Print

Spice up your dinner routine with this delicious potato stir-fry Chinese-style recipe. Simple to make crunchy potatoes and packed with hot and sour flavor!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 600g potatoes, cut into thin strips
• 1 stalk of spring onions, white and green sections, separated
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 dried chilies, seeds removed
• 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tbsp black vinegar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp Lao Gan Ma chili oil

Instructions

1. Wash and peel the potatoes, then slice them into thin strips of equal size.
2. Place them in a pot of cold water and wash them thoroughly several times to remove the excess starch. 
3. Soak the shredded potatoes in cold water for twenty minutes, which helps to attain a crunchy texture.
4. Remove the potatoes and drain them in a colander
5. Slicing the garlic cloves into thin pieces.
6. Cut the spring onion into thick rings and separate the green and white sections.
7. Cut the dried chilies into short sections and remove the seeds if you prefer less spicy.
8. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and let it fry over low heat for two minutes. 
9. Strain the oil through a wire mesh strainer to remove the peppercorns. 
10. Heat the peppercorn oil and the chili oil in a wok. Sauté the white section of the spring onions (green onions), dried chilies, garlic, and ginger until aromatic. 
11. Add the drained potatoes.
12. Stir-fry the potatoes over medium-high heat until they are crisp and tender. 
13. Season the potatoes with salt, sugar, black vinegar (Chinkiang vinegar), and light soy sauce.
14. Finally, add the green section of the spring onion and stir-fry for an additional thirty seconds. Serve.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar 18.6 fl oz
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  Pre-Seasshioned Cast Iron Skillet 2-Piece Set (10-Inch and 12-Inch) Oven Safe Cookware - 2 Heat-Resistant Holders - Indoor and Outdoor Use - Grill, Stovetop, Induction Safe
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  Soeos Authentic Szechuan Peppercorns (4 Ounces), Grade A Red Peppercorns, Sichuan Peppercorns, Chinese Peppercorns, Less Seeds, Szechuan Flavor Peppercorns, Szechuan Pepper for Mapo Tofu
• 
  Lao Gan Ma Laoganma Fried Chili in Oil Value Pack - 730g

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 361Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1527mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 8g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 8/4/2023