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Susan Jung


Text Susan Jung / Photography Jonathan Maloney / Styling Nellie Ming Lee
 
I have friends who dislike potatoes, which surprises me because, with the exception of certain (expensive) varieties, the tuber has a neutral flavour, making it a great blank canvas for other ingredients. Here are two recipes that, I hope, will please even potato haters.
Samosas (pictured)
If you have a tortilla press (which, I admit, is not a common gadget in Hong Kong), use it to press out the circles of dough - it's easier and faster than rolling it out. For vegan samosas, use vegetable shortening instead of ghee.
For the filling:
800 grams potatoes (I use smooth-skinned local potatoes), of the same size
Cooking oil, as needed
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 ½ tsp whole cumin seeds
6-10 curry leaves (depending on size)
1 large onion (about 150 grams), minced
1 medium-sized carrot (about 60 grams), cut into small dice
1 green banana chilli
5 grams grated ginger
1 ¼ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp chilli powder
80 grams frozen peas
Fine sea salt
Chutneys and/or raita (yogurt mixed with finely julienned fresh mint leaves), for serving
For the dough:
200 grams plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
¾ tsp fine sea salt
60 grams ghee, melted, then cooled to tepid
About 90ml ice water
Put the unpeeled potatoes in one layer in a pot, add cool water to cover them, then mix in two teaspoons of salt. Place over a medium flame and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. Drain them and when the potatoes are cool enough to handle, strip off the skin. Cut the potatoes into small dice. Bring another pot of water to the boil, add the peas and cook for one minute, then drain. Cut the banana chilli in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Finely mince the chilli.
Heat 30ml of oil in a large skillet (or wok) and when it's hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Stir constantly until the mustard seeds start to pop, then add the onion, carrot and a sprinkling of salt. Turn the heat to low and cook until the onion is soft. Add the chilli, ginger, garam masala and chilli powder and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. Add the potato, season to taste with salt then mix thoroughly. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is hot. Pull out and discard the curry leaves, then use a potato masher to roughly mash the mixture. Stir in the peas. While the mixture cools to room temperature, make the dough.
Thoroughly combine the flour and salt, then mix in the ghee and 75ml of ice water. Mix to form a rough dough; if it seems dry, add more ice water, a little at a time. Knead the dough until it's smooth and pliable. Wrap it in cling-film and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Have a small bowl of water ready. On a very lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a snake and cut it into 16 evenly sized pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and cover them with cling-film. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll (or press) it into a 15cm circle, then cut it in half. Join the cut edges so they're slightly overlapping and the piece of dough is a cone shape. Press the edges of the dough together so they adhere (if needed, very lightly dampen the cut edge to make it sticky). Make a circle with the fingers of your non-dominant hand and put the cone - pointed-side down - in the circle. Spoon the filling into the cone to fill it tightly, leaving space at the top to seal the samosa. Very lightly brush the edges of the dough with water then fold them down over the filling and press tightly to seal. Place the filled samosa on a tray lined with cling-film. Repeat the process with the remaining dough and filling.
Pour oil into a wide pan to the depth of about 4cm. Heat the oil to 180 degrees Celsius then fry the samosas in batches. Fry them until they're medium-brown, turning over as needed. Drain them on paper towels, then serve with chutneys and/or raita.
Spanish tortilla with chorizo
This is something I make frequently because it's easy, fast and delicious. The recipe is adapted from one in cookbook  The New Spanish Table, by Anya von Bremzen; she serves it with allioli (garlic mayonnaise), but the tortilla is flavourful enough that it doesn't need it. Von Bremzen makes one large (25cm) tortilla, but I use two 12cm-14cm skillets, because they're easier to flip.
60ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced
200 grams Spanish chorizo, diced
450 grams potatoes (I use the smooth-skinned local variety)
7 large eggs
25ml chicken broth or water
Fine salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peel the potatoes then cut them into small dice. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the potato then simmer until tender but not mushy. Drain the pieces, rinse them with cold water and drain again.
Whisk the eggs with the broth (or water) then add one quarter of a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper.
Set two 12cm-14cm skillets (preferably non-stick) over a medium flame (if you have only one pan, make the tortillas one right after the other). Into each pan add 30ml of oil and half the onion, then cook over a low flame until soft. Increase the heat, add half the chorizo to each pan and cook until lightly browned. Add half the potato to each pan and cook until hot. Stir half the egg mixture into each skillet and cook for four minutes over a medium-low flame, stirring occasionally. When the egg starts to set but is still moist, let the tortillas cook without stirring for about two minutes over a medium flame. Shake the pans to loosen the tortillas from the edges and bottom. Slide the tortillas onto two plates then invert one pan over a tortilla. Holding the plate and pan together, quickly flip it so the uncooked side is in the bottom of the pan. Remove the plate then continue to cook the tortilla until it's done, but still moist. Repeat this action with the other pan. Turn the tortillas out onto cutting boards and let them rest for several minutes before cutting into wedges.
 


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Potato recipes: samosas, and potato tortilla with chorizo

Few ingredients can flatter other flavours as well as the mighty potato