Begedil : To Fry or Not To Fry?

Of course begedil (deep fried potato patties) are fried. I was just pondering if I should fry or steam the potatoes before making the begedil? Is there any difference in taste?

All this while, I steam the potatoes not because I think frying is bad but for the simple reason that steaming is loads easier. Just peel and cut the potatoes and put them in the steamer. Easy.

Frying on the other hand, is a whole lot of work. You have to fry the potatoes in batches (unless if you have a large wok) and you use up  lot of oil (because the end product also needs to be fried).

Does steaming or frying the potatoes affect the taste of the begedil? I decided to find out. No harm in making begedil again as it is one of my favorite foods. My partner loves it too.

So this time I fried the potatoes first.

I did it in two batches. Fry until the potatoes are cooked and lightly browned.

These will be mashed and mixed with fried shallots, minced Chinese celery leaves, spring onions and seasoned with salt and lots of pepper.

One thing I noted is that it is harder to mash fried potatoes. Some people pound the potatoes using mortar and pestle but that's too tedious to me.

My arm got a good workout that day. Then I mixed in the other ingredients.

And formed the mixture into patties.

I got 17 patties out of 700g of potatoes (about 6 potatoes I think).

These were dipped in beaten egg before being dropped into hot oil to fry till golden brown.

I usually add some minced meat into my begedil but this time I did not. After a taste test, the verdict is that there is hardly any difference in taste. It was very good and so were the ones made using steamed potatoes.

The key point is, as long as you add the necessary ingredients and season the mashed potatoes well, your begedil will turn out awesome. 

With that, in future, I will continue to use steamed potatoes.

Begedil (Deep Fried Potato Patties)

Recipe source : PH

Ingredients :

- 700g potatoes

- 2 tbsp Chinese celery leaves, finely minced

- 2 tbsp fried shallots

- 2 tbsp spring onions, finely sliced

- 1 tsp salt or to taste

- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

- 1 egg, lightly beaten

- oil for deep frying

Method :

1. Peel potatoes and cut into wedges.

2. Heat oil in wok and deep fry the potatoes until cooked and lightly browned. Drain on paper towels.

3. In a mixing bowl, mash the potatoes.

4. Add celery leaves, fried shallots, spring onions, salt and pepper. Mix everything until mixture comes together like a dough.

5. Pinch a small amount of mixture, form into a ball and press slightly to make a patty. Do this until all mixture is used up.

6. Heat oil in wok for deep frying.

7. Dip each patty into beaten egg to coat and drop into the hot oil. Fry in batches.

8. Drain on paper towels.

9. May be served hot or at room temperature.