Fried Taro Nests (芋蝦)

(makes 80-90)

This is one of the reasons i used to LOVE going back to Hong Kong. When we were young, we used to go back to HK and our grandma had 2 massive metal canisters full of these deliciously crunchy, sesame-coated, fall-apart Taro Nests. We would have to ration it so that there would be enough until the end of our 2-week trip, but you would always hope one more would just 'accidentally shatter' and you could help by licking up the crumbs!

Not even a crumb or a sesame seed left!!

These Taro Nests are a Chinese New Year tradition that my grandma used to make because she had 7 children and wanted to feed them before they went to other people's houses so they didn't look like greedy, starving children when they saw all the goodies put before them! So she learnt how to make these and would cook six times this amount every CNY! I can't imagine but that would have taken hours!! 

Tips for picking a taro: 

1. Choose long elongated taros, not round ones

2. Make sure the inside is mostly white with not too many purple specks

Prep time: 45-60min (just cutting so depends on your skill level!)

Cooking time: 1.5-2hrs

Ingredients:
1/2 Taro (approx 1.5kg)
6 T plain flour
6 tsp salt, heaped
6 T raw sesame seeds
Special equipment: 2-3 Hotpot Stainless Steel Spoon Strainers (Narrow sieve)


Method:
1. Peel the taro, then cut in half length-wise, then cut into super thin slices and then into thin strips.
NB. This is the part that takes the most skill, as the thinner the slices, the tastier the nests!

2. In a separate bowl, take a 1 1/2 handfuls of sliced taro, add 1 T flour, 1 heaped tsp of salt and 1 T sesame seeds.
3. Stir to mix through and loosen the taro slices. The salt will start to soften the taro, but you will need to work through the next bit quickly as you don't want it the batter mix to get soggy!

4. Heat a wok with enough oil to deep-fry and heat. Test it's hot enough by putting a wooden chopstick in the middle and when bubbles come up then it is ready, then lower the heat.
5. Very loosely pack the taro slices into the strainers then lower into the oil.
NB. When the taro is initially put into the oil it will bubble a lot, then as it cooks it'll bubble less and you can flip it over and it should hold it's shape.

6. Continue to cook on low-medium heat until no more bubbles are released, which means the taro is cooked. Once you are able to turn and release the Taro nest, then you can start loading up the next one and repeating the process.
NB. To get through all the taro strips, it make take 5-6 batches so be patient and don't rush the process! If you mix in too big a batch of taro with the batter (flour/salt/sesame) then the taro will go soggy and won't go crisp when deep-frying! Can't rush perfection!
You may need to adjust the heat at times to heat/cool the oil so you don't burn the taro.
7. When it is a nice brown colour (but not burnt!), remove into a large strainer over a pot, giving it at least 5-10 minutes to allow any excess oil to drip.

8. Let the taro nests dry on a paper towel, which helps it to soak up a bit more oil as well.

9. Pack away into an airtight container, and can be kept for up to a week (if you have that much self-control!)

A little army of freshly-fried goodies, waiting to be munched on!!