Topic: Latkes

[Nichi]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_pancake

I've heard all my life how delicious these are. Never had them, never made them. There are lots of recipes online - both Jewish and Japanese. Just wondered if anyone here has made them, and what approach you used.

[Nichi]

Love the sound of this recipe, but I am totally unfamiliar with using dashi. Anyone ever use it? What is the flavor there? What sounds really good in this recipe is the incorporation of shredded cabbage and bean sprouts - should make them nice and crunchy.

Ingredients for a Japanese Latke

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup rice flour
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ cups dashi, at room temperature
1 quart tightly packed, finely sliced green cabbage (about one small head)
2 cups thinly sliced onion (about one large onion)
1 quart (3 to 4 large) grated, blanched russet potatoes (see note)
1 quart bean sprouts, green caps removed
Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crème fraîche, for serving
Thinly sliced scallions, for serving
1 lemon, for squeezing
Ikura (salmon roe) or other caviar — as much as you like.

(Recipe ingredients are very expensive - I'm just daydreaming.)

Preparation

Note: To blanch potatoes, bring 4 quarts water and 1/4 cup salt to a boil. Add potatoes immediately after grating, and boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain and spread on paper towels to dry.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, sugar and baking soda. Add the dashi, and whisk until smooth; do not overmix. The batter may be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, onion, blanched potatoes, bean sprouts and batter. Mix well, and set aside.

Place a 6- or 8-inch nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil, and heat until almost smoking. Slowly pour all the batter into the pan, and flatten it with the back of a spoon to no more than 1 inch thick. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until the underside starts to crisp and the center to bubble, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the okonomi-latke, add another tablespoon of oil and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.

Once the okonomi-latke is browned on the second side, transfer from the heat onto a paper towel to drain some of the oil. Season lightly on both sides with salt and pepper. Cut into quarters, and top with crème fraîche, scallions, a squeeze of lemon juice and ikura.

[Nichi]

One more daydream-recipe:

Ingredients

    1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
    Sea salt
    2 pounds baking potatoes
    1 large onion, finely diced
    2 large eggs, lightly beaten
    1 cup matzo meal
    1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
    Vegetable oil, for frying
    Applesauce, crème fraîche, smoked salmon, salmon roe and dill sprigs, for serving

(Two different kinds of potatoes and matzo meal. The matzo meal I've never used. Also, don't have a ricer or a food processor as instructed below.)

(I'm remembering now how I've never made latkes.)


Instructions

    In a medium saucepan, cover the Yukon Gold potatoes with cool water, season generously with salt and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and immediately pass the potatoes through a ricer into a large bowl.

    Working quickly, peel and grate the baking potatoes on the large holes of a box grater into a medium bowl. Press with a clean kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Add half of the grated potatoes to the riced potatoes.

    Transfer the remaining grated potatoes to the bowl of a food processor. Add the onion and pulse until the potatoes and onions are very finely chopped. Transfer to a fine-mesh sieve and press with the back of a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Add the potato-onion mixture to the large bowl. Stir in the eggs, matzo meal, white pepper and 2 teaspoons of salt.

    In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil until shimmering. Working in 3 batches, spoon 1/4 cup of the potato mixture into the oil for each latke; press slightly to flatten. Fry over moderate heat, turning once, until the latkes are golden and crisp on both sides, about 7 minutes. Drain the latkes on a paper towel-lined baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Serve with applesauce, crème fraîche, smoked salmon, salmon roe and dill.

[runningstream]

i love the word skillet

yummy

[Ke-ke wan]

Coming from a German family (don't hate me ) I have had every version of fried, or boiled potato and or cabbage you can think of.  Nothing better than some crisp greasy taters, though. 

[Ke-ke wan]

caraway seed is good with potato pancakes, not sure about dashi, though.

A similar thing, somehow, that I think you may like is Pekorah.  I don't know if I spelled that correctly.  An INdian fried food with veggies or fish.  I like the veggie version.