Chips a-quack!

Last Christmas a friend gave me a bag of salted egg-coated potato chips. I liked it a lot, to the extent of looking it up online, which was how I discovered it had been some sort of craze in Manila a while back.

I went through the whole pack so fast that I failed to take proper notice of what made the chips hold up to the rather wet flavoring, so when I decided to come up with my version, I sliced the potatoes the way I usually did, that is, paper-thin. Perfect on their own, but ill-equipped to take on the butter-drenched salted egg yolk. I had to drain the batch on paper towels and put the chips in the oven to crisp them back up, hence the darker shade.

My advice is to slice your potatoes at least an eighth of an inch thick. Top with water and work the slices with your hands to remove as much of the starch as possible, drain, then top again with brined water (a teaspoon of coarse salt for every two cups of water). Let stand for half an hour. In the meantime, prepare acidulated water in a pot by combining a tablespoon of vinegar for every four cups of water. Heat to a boil, drain sliced potatoes, then boil for three minutes. Drain again and arrange slices in rows between paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible (use a tray).

To fry, heat two to three inches of oil in a wide pan. When oil hits 325℉, fry slices (you will have to do this in several batches) until the chips stop giving off bubbles. Remove to tray lined with paper towel, then let sit in warmed oven while you prepare the salted egg coating.

Speaking of which, I did not have enough salted duck eggs for half a kilo of potatoes; I used four, but figured I needed thrice the amount to get the full experience (hopefully not including a heart attack). No wonder this variant is expensive.

The only counsel I can give you at this point is to not use too much butter: it will separate from the egg mixture and soak the potato chips. Start with a scant tablespoon of unsalted butter (the yolks are already salty, and you can always correct for taste later) for every four yolks. In a pan, mash yolks until smooth, then turn on heat and add butter. For a bit of sweetness, add honey. For heat, chopped chili or chili flakes. Keep stirring the mixture until everything is well incorporated. Adjust taste to your liking before adding potato chips. Toss until well coated and serve immediately.

Preferably with ice-cold Coke. Please note that this post is offered only for educational purposes, and the author can/will not be held responsible for anything that may result from its practical application. A prosperous and happy life to you for the new lunar year!