This recipe is mentioned in The Sorcerer's Apprentices and it looked like a fun little snack to make. Just deep fried potatoes and a kimchi flavored sauce. H-Mart is a few minutes from my house so I figured I'd run over, grab the kimchi sauce base and be ready to go.
Ha!
Nobody I talked to at H-Mart had ever heard of kimchi base (I even had a picture of the bottle with me). Apparently Philly area Koreans make their kimchi from scratch. Fortunately, the internet knows all and I quickly found several recipes for kimchi base. I decided to use the recipe in this video, mostly because I wouldn't have to run out for any ingredients.
Kimchi Sauce Base
Ingredients
- 150 grams Red Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
- 20 grams Ginger, peeled and chopped
- 65 grams Garlic, peeled
- 60 grams onion, chopped
- 50 grams Water
- 130 grams Coarse Korean Pepper Fakes
- 200 grams Fish Sauce
- 18 grams Sugar
- 75 grams Water
- Place the bell pepper, ginger, garlic, onion and water in a food processor and process until it reaches the texture of apple sauce.
- Pour the pepper mixture into a bowl.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Cover and allow to combine for 30 minutes or more
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That's AP Flour, Water, Wheat Fiber, Salt, Sugar, and Yeast. Wheat Fiber is a somewhat mysterious ingredient in the elBulli catalogs. The elBulli/Texturas name for it is "Trisol". It takes a little Googling and some reading of descriptions but it's actually wheat dextrin. The exact same thing as Benefiber.
Putting it all together is easy. I just dissolved the yeast in the water and added the sugar and salt. Then I combined the flour and Benefiber and whisked the mixture into the water mixture. I comes together very quickly and forms a smooth wet batter.
That goes into an airtight container to rest in the 'fridge for 3 hours.
The Potatoes
Nothing to this at all. The only trick is finding the little tiny potatoes. These are "C" grade Yukon Gold. I cut a little "X" in each potato and into a vacuum bag with soy sauce and a few slices of ginger.
I don't have a chamber vacuum (yet) so I used a regular zip-lock bag and the immersion method. They rest for a half hour with the Kimchi base.
Thickened Kimchi Sauce
Nothing much to this. Clockwise from top: kimchi sauce base, soy sauce, sesame oil, xanthan, sugar. Everything gets hit with the immersion blender until it turns into a smooth sauce.
The Tempura Potatoes
After I drained the little potatoes it was just a standard deep frying process: roll 'em in a little flour, dip in the tempura batter and pop 'em in the fryer. 170° C for about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels, salt and:
How it tastes: Great! Despite the amount of chili in the sauce it wasn't too spicy. The addition of the wheat dextrin to the tempura batter made the little guys extra crisp. It's easy enough to make you can use it as snack pretty much anytime.
Equipment and Ingredients
The Books: El Bulli 2005-2011 - Yes, freakin' expensive. Check with your local library - they may well be "in the system" and available to be reserved.
Xanthan Gum
Wheat Dextrin, aka Trisol or Benefiber
Immersion Blender
Deep Fryer
A scale that measures in grams
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