Monday, August 25, 2008

German potato salad


German Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 kg waxy potatoes
Note*: One way to classify potatoes is by the starch content. The higher the starch content, the more dry and granular it is after being cooked. The flesh is easier to flake or mash. Starchy potatoes are better for baking and mashing and frying due to the low moisture content.
Waxy potatoes on the other hand, are able to hold their own shape better after baking, steaming and cooking. These are better for potato salads. Yellow skin and red skin potatoes are good examples of waxy potatoes.
Before purchasing potatoes for any use, be sure to ask any of the staff in-charge. Wet market stall holders are most of the time able to differentiate between the 2. Just tell them what you want to use it for and they will guide you to buy the right ones.

Dressing ingredients:

1) 60g diced streaky bacon

2) 400 ml chicken stock (for home cooking, use chicken stock powder and mix with hot water)

3) 30ml white wine vinegar (I used red wine vinegar. I believe balsamic and rice wine vinegar works as well)

4) 113g diced onions

5) Salt to taste

6) Sugar to taste

7) Ground white pepper as needed

8) 60 ml vegetable oil

9) 28g brown mustard (other kinds of mustard works for me too)

10) 1/2 bunch chives (may substitute with spring onion)

Cooking method:

1) Peel the potatoes and cut them evenly into smaller pieces. The size of the potatoes vary according to how large you want them to be. They should however, be roughly the same size for even cooking.

2) Steam the potatoes until fork-tender. (No resistance at all if a fork is used to poke it. One may also eat 1 piece of the steamed potato to test for tenderness)

3) Saute the bacon in a saute pan until it is cooked throughly and slightly crispy.

4) Bring the stock, onions, vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper to a boil. (Warning: The smell of the dressing at this point may not be very pleasant due to the vinegar. One may choose to omit the vinegar. But then what would be special about the salad?)

5) Combine the oil, bacon fat, bacon, steamed potatoes, chives and the boiled dressing together. Toss gently with spoons. Do not break the potatoes by tossing with forks and sharp objects.

6) Cover the salad (traps the flavour) and leave it in the chiller overnight or until it is chilled thoroughly.

7) Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to the chilled salad. One may also wish to strain away some of the dressing if it is too much. Serve.

Posted by The Inflamed at 2:02 PM