Tuesday 9 July 2019

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.


22 comments:

  1. Fried is better in my own opinion. Hehehe.

    I love potato begedil.

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    Replies
    1. Some people think so too hee..hee...

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  2. you're becoming the ultimate begedil sifu in the klang valley - it's sad for the rest of us that your begedil isn't commercially available! :)

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    Replies
    1. Me? Oh no! But I love that compliment hee..hee..

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  3. since no difference in taste, yes, go for the steam option as the potatoes are easier to smash. I could just eat your begedil as my main meal without any rice. so yummy!

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    Replies
    1. I love eating is just like that too hee..hee..

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  4. Just bought some today, my girl enjoys them. You fried? I think I boiled and mashed to make them and deep fry at the end.

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  5. Ah, I could see that this batch of begedil has egg strands...I like! ;) Even though I've never made begedil before, I would have guessed that it's made with boiled, not fried potatoes. And I would have thought that using fried potatoes might render the begedil more oily since the patties have to undergo another frying process again.

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    Replies
    1. My thoughts exactly. Now that I have tried it, I find no significant difference in taste. Yay!

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  6. If there is not much difference in taste, I would definitely go for the steaming route too.

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  7. Of course steam is easier, i would go for steam option too if there is no difference in taste, i would love to have some of your begedil for tea, slurps.

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  8. I would go steaming and then baking. The health nut in me can't stand to fry anything ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Hey, you gave me an idea. I'll try baking and see how it goes.

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  9. Wahhh.. Looking at them, I know it is nice already! Only too lazy to do.. hahaa...

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  10. I'll vote for steaming version too, even if the fried version tastes better because I really don't like to do frying at home :P I wonder if I can cook this in an air fryer o.O

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    Replies
    1. Why don't you try and let me know? hee...hee...

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