Taro Crisp Recipes

TARO CHIPS

Steps:

• Peel 2 medium taro roots and slice 1/8 inch thick with a mandoline. (You want them to be thin but sturdy.) Arrange in a single layer on 2 foil-lined baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees F until browned in spots and crispy, 15 to 25 minutes. Season with salt. Let cool.

TARO CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel taro root and thinly slice into 1/16-inch-thick slices using a mandoline. Lightly brush two 12-by-17-inch baking sheets with olive oil and spread chips evenly onto each. Brush tops of chips with olive oil and bake until crisp, 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer chips to a paper towel to cool and sprinkle with salt.

BAKED TARO CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Place taro disks in a 1- to 2-inch deep dish. Brush disks evenly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops of chips are crisp, about 15 minutes; flip chips and continue baking until second side is crisp, about 15 more minutes.

CRISP DUCK WITH WHIPPED TARO ROOT AND TARO CHIPS

Steps:

• Separate legs from the breast by cutting where the breast and carcass end and legs begin, or have your butcher cut it for you. Using a sharp boning knife, follow right along the breast bone on either side and remove both breasts. Trim fat along outside of the breast allowing approximately one third of an inch of fat overlap. Score fat on breast by making a diagonal cut, making sure not to cut the breast meat. About four strokes is sufficient.
• In a food processor, dice unpeeled ginger and garlic until coarsely chopped. Place in a stainless steel bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Place the two whole duck legs and the four duck breasts in the marinade. Remove the duck breasts after one hour. The legs should continue to marinate for an additional half an hour, and then be removed.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Using the carcasses of the duck, place the duck legs on the duck carcass. Place legs and carcasses in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the ducks are not getting too dark. They are ready when the leg wiggles freely to your touch, and they are a nice deep amber color. The skin should look crisp and rendered of fat. Cool. Once cooled, take your boning knife and cut through the skin right in the middle of the legs. Using your hands, separate duck legs. (Use your thumb to get under the oyster and gently pull leg from the bones.) Gently use your fingers to pull out the thigh bone. Trim legs a little to keep a nice triangular shape.
• For the breasts:
• Heat a large, 12 inch sautepan to medium high. (You can cook two duck breasts in one pan or cook one at a time in a smaller, 10 inch pan.) Add two breasts, skin side down to start rendering the fat. Cook over medium high heat for a couple of minutes. (You will need to remove the rendered fat as you go. Hold duck breast still with a pair of tongs and pour fat into a stainless bowl or other container. Return to heat). After the first couple of minutes on medium high heat, turn burner down to medium, so not to burn the duck. The duck should be a rich amber color. Continue cooking until the fat is almost completely rendered. You can check this by looking at the incisions of the fat. When there is only a thin, crisp skin, the duck is ready to be flipped. Turn duck over. Shut heat off and leave the breast to sit in the pan for about three to four minutes. Remove from pan and allow to rest for five minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the duck legs in a medium to medium small saute pan, skin side down and pan covered to heat and finish any additional rendering of fat, approximately five minutes.
• Slice duck breast into fairly thing slices, keeping the nice shape of the breast. With a spatula, pick up breast and fan it out onto the plate. Place duck legs on an angle near the top of the slices. Serve with Whipped Taro Root, Taro Chips, lots of julienned scallions and a little Duck Jus.
• Peel taro root. First, for the chips, take your peeler and peel approximately one cup of long taro shreds. Reserve for frying.
• Take the remaining taro and cut it up into rough 2 inch chunks. Place in a sauce pan, covering with cold water. Boil root until tender. Strain into a colander, reserving cup of the liquid. In a food processor, pulse taro, adding little dabs of butter as you go, along with some of the cooking liquid to make a smooth consistency. Remove and season with salt and pepper.
• For the chips:
• Heat a couple of cups of peanut or grapeseed oil to 350 degrees. Drops shreds into oil in small batches. Remove when crisp (the chips should still be light in color) and salt.
• In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat oil. Add chopped duck body, leek, celery and carrot pieces and cook until vegetables are golden. Add white wine and chicken stock and reduce by half. Add soy marinade, cooking an additional few minutes. Skim off any fat and strain.

WHIPPED TARO ROOT AND TARO CHIPS

Steps:

• Peel taro root. First, for the chips, take your peeler and peel approximately one cup of long taro shreds. Reserve for frying.
• Take the remaining taro and cut it up into rough 2 inch chunks. Place in a sauce pan, covering with cold water. Boil root until tender. Strain into a colander, reserving cup of the liquid. In a food processor, pulse taro, adding little dabs of butter as you go, along with some of the cooking liquid to make a smooth consistency. Remove and season with salt and pepper.
• For the chips:
• Heat a couple of cups of peanut or grapeseed oil to 350 degrees. Drops shreds into oil in small batches. Remove when crisp (the chips should still be light in color) and salt.
• For the duck: Separate legs from the breast by cutting where the breast and carcass end and legs begin, or have your butcher cut it for you. Using a sharp boning knife, follow right along the breast bone on either side and remove both breasts. Trim fat along outside of the breast allowing approximately one-third of an inch of fat overlap. Score fat on breast by making a diagonal cut, making sure not to cut the breast meat. About four strokes is sufficient.
• In a food processor, dice unpeeled ginger and garlic until coarsely chopped. Place in a stainless steel bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Place the two whole duck legs and the four duck breasts in the marinade. Remove the duck breasts after one hour. The legs should continue to marinate for an additional half an hour, and then be removed.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using the carcasses of the duck, place the duck legs on the duck carcass. Place legs and carcasses in a roasting pan and roast for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Check periodically to make sure the ducks are not getting too dark. They are ready when the leg wiggles freely to your touch, and they are a nice deep amber color. The skin should look crisp and rendered of fat. Cool. Once cooled, take your boning knife and cut through the skin right in the middle of the legs. Using your hands, separate duck legs. (Use your thumb to get under the oyster and gently pull leg from the bones.) Gently use your fingers to pull out the thigh bone. Trim legs a little to keep a nice triangular shape.
• For the breasts:
• Heat a large, 12 inch saute pan to medium high. (You can cook two duck breasts in one pan or cook one at a time in a smaller, 10 inch pan.) Add two breasts, skin side down to start rendering the fat. Cook over medium high heat for a couple of minutes. (You will need to remove the rendered fat as you go. Hold duck breast still with a pair of tongs and pour fat into a stainless bowl or other container. Return to heat). After the first couple of minutes on medium high heat, turn burner down to medium, so not to burn the duck. The duck should be a rich amber color. Continue cooking until the fat is almost completely rendered. You can check this by looking at the incisions of the fat. When there is only a thin, crisp skin, the duck is ready to be flipped. Turn duck over. Shut heat off and leave the breast to sit in the pan for about three to four minutes. Remove from pan and allow to rest for five minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the duck legs in a medium to medium small saute pan, skin side down and pan covered to heat and finish any additional rendering of fat, approximately five minutes.
• Slice duck breast into fairly thing slices, keeping the nice shape of the breast. With a spatula, pick up breast and fan it out onto the plate. Place duck legs on an angle near the top of the slices. Serve with Whipped Taro Root, Taro Chips, lots of julienned scallions, and a little Duck Jus.
• In a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add one chopped, roasted duck body, 1 leek, roughly chopped, one stalk of celery and one carrot cut into half-inch pieces. Cook until vegetables are golden. Add a cup of white wine and two cups of chicken stock and reduce by half. Add one half cup of soy marinade, cooking an additional few minutes. Skim off any fat and strain.

TARO PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the filling, combine the pork, dark soy sauce, and ginger in a bowl. Set aside to marinate.
• Toss the shrimp with the 1/4 teaspoon salt and then rinse. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels. Finely chop and set aside.
• Make the seasoning sauce by combining the pinch of salt, white pepper, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, oyster sauce, rice wine, and water in a bowl. Stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Set aside.
• Heat the canola oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the pork and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, or until the pork has turned a beautiful glossy brown. Add the shrimp and continue stirring for about 1 minute to cook the shrimp through. Give the seasoning sauce a stir and add to the mixture. Stir for about 15 seconds, or until the mixture has cohered and taken on a sheen. Turn off the heat and stir in the scallion. Taste and add adjust the flavor as necessary. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and as long as 2 days. You should have about 3/4 cup.
• To make the dough, trim off the ends of the taro root to reveal the flesh. Stand the taro on its wider end and use a knife in downward motions to remove 1/4 to 1/3 inch of the outer layer, which includes the rough brown skin and a tough ring of flesh where there is a greater concentration of the speckled chocolate brown flecks. As you work all around the taro, your knife blade may sense the density difference between the more tender inner flesh and the harder outer layer. Do not worry about removing it all because you will have another chance later. Halve the taro lengthwise and then cut into half-circles about 3/4 inch thick. Put into a bowl of water and set aside while you bring water to a boil for steaming (see page 17 for guidance).
• Drain the taro, put it in a steamer tray (there is no need to line it), and steam over boiling water for 30 to 45 minutes, until the taro is soft. Poke several pieces with a toothpick; there should be no resistance. Depending on your trimming job, some areas at the rim may be hard still. That is fine because you will shortly discard them. Aim for most of the flesh to be soft. The texture of cooked taro will seem dry. Remove the steamer tray and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes, or until the taro is still warm but cool enough to handle with your fingers. Warm taro mashes easily.
• While the taro steams, put the wheat starch in a bowl. Gradually add the water, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. When the mixture is pasty and has a texture resembling frosting, stop adding water. There may be left over water. Set aside. Expect the wheat starch to firm up as it sits. Cover if it begins to dry.
• Pick up each taro piece and crumble and mash it with your fingers into a bowl. It should fall apart easily. Discard all the hard pieces. Tiny firm bits suspended in the mash are fine. Measure out 1/2 pound (1 packed cup) and transfer to the bowl of wheat starch; discard or save the extra taro for another use. Add the salt and sugar and combine the ingredients with your fingers until well blended. Add the lard and keep mixing and kneading for 1 to 2 minutes, until a soft dough with the texture of mashed potatoes forms. Gather the dough into a ball and put it in a clean, dry bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and as long as 2 days. Firm dough is easier to work with.
• When you are ready to form the dumplings, remove the dough and filling from the refrigerator. Line a baking sheet or plate with parchment paper. On an unfloured work surface, roll the dough into a thick 12-inch log. Cut the log into 12 even-size pieces. Roll each one into a ball and set aside. Chill the dough balls for about 5 minutes to firm them up so that they are easier to manipulate, if you like. For each dumpling, take a ball of dough and use your thumb to press a well in the center. Then press on the walls with your fingers to form a shallow bowl a good 2 1/2 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. Put a scant tablespoon of filling in the center and tap it gently to flatten it out. Then bring up the edges of the dough to close up the dumpling. Gently push and press the dough to fully enclose the filling. It should look like a small football (see page 164 for guidance). Put it on the work surface and neaten it up, if you like. Put the finished dumpling on the prepared plate. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
• To fry the dumplings, pour 1 1/2 inches of oil into a medium saucepan. Because the oil will dramatically bubble during frying, make sure that there is at least 2 inches between the top level of the oil and the rim of the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until 360° to 370°F on a deep-fry thermometer. (Without a thermometer, test a dumpling to gauge the oil temperature. The chopstick test here is not as helpful.) When frying these dumplings, begin at a medium-high oil temperature and then immediately lower the heat after the dumplings have set. This assures that the dumplings do not disintegrate, creates their signature lacy coating, and allows them to adequately cook without browning too fast. Fry in manageable batches of 3 dumplings. After adding the dumplings to the oil, the oil will rush to a boil, sending the dumplings floating upward. At that point, lower the heat to medium-low. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the dumplings are a beautiful brown. If they stick together, nudge them a bit as they fry, and they will eventually separate. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lift the dumplings from the oil (you will hear them sizzle still) and drain them on paper towels. Raise the heat to medium-high to return the oil temperature to a moderately high temperature between batches. Skim and discard any floating bits in the oil, as needed.
• Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature, as long as the dumplings are crisp. Present on a platter, each one each cut in half with scissors or a knife so it is easy to pick up with chopsticks. Freshly fried dumplings will hold their crispness for about 3 hours if left at room temperature. To serve them hot, reheat in a 400°F oven for about 5 minutes. Refrigerated ones soften, and the best way to revive them is by refrying in 350°F oil for about 1 minute; the lacy crispness will return.

TARO ROLLS

Steps:

• Combine water, poi, butter, egg, yeast, and purple food coloring in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let stand until yeast softens and forms a creamy foam, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and salt.
• Mix on low speed, adding flour gradually, until dough comes together and texture is smooth.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Divide into 18 pieces; shape into rolls.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place rolls on the prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bottoms start to brown, about 20 minutes.

TARO CRISP

Steps:

• Sift together dry ingredients.
• Cut in butter and mix in oil.
• Add sweet mixture.
• Roll out to 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2 inch circles.
• Place filling in center.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes until puffed up.

TARO CREPES

Steps:

• Add all ingredients together.
• Heat frying pan with oil and butter.
• Add 1 thin layer of crepe batter.
• Cook until set.
• Top with pineappple syrup.