Crispy twist to potato cutlets

Fry the sliced shallots in a little oil until crispy and save the remaining oil to saute the ground meat.

THE popular fried potato cutlets with meat is better known as bergedil among locals.

Each culture has its own version depending on local ingredients.

The patties are usually made with leftover meat that is repackaged into bite-size morsels and eaten on-the-run as a snack or lunch the next day.

In recent years, the traditional bergedil has been repackaged, this time with tauhu pok (tofu puffs). You can find tauhu bergedil at many stalls, especially at Ramadan bazaars.

You will require all the basic ingredients for bergedil with the addition of the tauhu pok, which you will need to hollow out to fill with the potato stuffing.

The tauhu pok’s mass can be deep-fried and served on the side with the tauhu bergedil. It tastes amazing with the dipping sauce.

Some recipes call for the potatoes to be boiled or steamed before being mashed, but the traditional method is to fry them.

Not only does it reduce the amount of moisture in the bergedil, it also adds a layer of flavour you will not get by boiling or steaming them.

Another way to layer in more flavour is to fry your own shallots rather than using store-bought ones.

The remaining oil from frying the shallots imparts a tremendous amount of flavour to the meat when sauteed in it.

The traditional meat in bergedil is ground beef, but you may use chicken or other protein options instead.

A vegetarian option is to have mushrooms substitute for the meat. You may use fresh shiitake mushrooms or soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water, then saute the finely diced mushrooms and tauhu pok mass in shallot oil.

So as not to soak up too much egg batter, dip the stuffed tauhu pok in the batter just before dropping them into hot oil.

Because the stuffing is already fully cooked, the puffs just need to be fried for a few minutes on both sides until lightly golden and crispy.

They keep well in the refrigerator, and you can reheat them in the oven or toaster oven before serving.T

Tauhu Bergedil Ingredients

6tbsp cooking oil

150g shallots, sliced or 50g fried shallots

300g minced chicken or beef

750g potatoes, peeled

4 cups cooking oil for deep-frying

50g spring onion, diced

50g coriander, minced

salt

pepper

300g tauhu pok

Batter2 eggs

1 tsp cornstarch

Dipping sauce3 pods Thai chilli

3 pods bird’s eye chilli

1 clove garlic

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp soy sauce

juice from 1 lime MethodFry shallots in six tablespoons of oil until lightly brown and crispy.

Pat dry excess oil from fried shallots on kitchen towel. Set aside.

In remaining oil, fry minced meat until browned. Set aside.

Cut peeled potatoes into half-centimetre-thick slices. Wash off starch with water and drain on a wire strainer to dry.

Fry potato slices in hot oil until lightly golden. Mash fried potatoes into coarse chunks.

Stir in browned meat, coriander, spring onions, fried shallots and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cut an ‘X’ across the top of the tauhu pok and hollow out its mass from the cavity.

Gather balls of potato mixture and stuff into the tofu puff cavity.

Beat the eggs with cornstarch until combined. Dip the tofu puffs into batter and deep-fry until light golden and crispy.

When all the tauhu bergedil are fried, deep-fry remaining tofu mass to serve on the side.

Put all of the dipping sauce ingredients into an electric mill and blend until fine.

Garnish tauhu bergedil with a sprinkle of fried shallots, diced red chilies and minced coriander served with dipping sauce.