This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes— a crunchy potato sliver salad dressed with a sharp, zingy vinaigrette and aromatic chili oil. You’ll find served in restaurants across China as an appetizer.

In Chinese cuisine, potatoes aren’t considered a staple food or main starch, but a vegetable that you can prepare as a seasoned dish to go with rice, or cai 菜. Thinly slivered into “threads” (tudousi), the potatoes are usually cooked until al dente— tender but still slightly crunchy. My dad loves to stir-fry potato slivers or blanch them for a liangban (cold-dressed) dish like this one.

The key to these dishes is to soak the cut potato threads and rinse off as much starch as possible, and cook them just long enough so they’re no longer raw but still crisp to the bite. This al dente potato texture isn’t very common in the West, where potatoes are eaten starchy and soft, but it’s beloved in Chinese cooking and called shuang cui 爽脆, or “refreshingly crunchy.”

The enoki mushrooms in this dish are optional, but I love adding them for a chewy, slippery texture. They also bulk up the salad with volume and fiber (and savoriness!).

Instructions/Tips

• Any type of potato will work, but I like using gold potatoes because of their waxy texture (they’re not as floury or starchy as Russet) and their warm, jewel-toned color. I picked up these beautiful yellow-fleshed new potatoes at the farmer’s market here in Portland.

• Peel the potatoes. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the potatoes into thin ⅛-inch rounds. Stack and cut into thin slivers. You can also use a food processor with the grater blade. Place in a large bowl of cold water and rinse several times to wash the starch from the potatoes.

• Trim off the root end of the enoki mushroom bunch. Tear it into smaller clusters, each about two or three mushrooms thick. 

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the potatoes until they are softened but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of water to cool. Bring the water back to a boil and blanch the mushrooms until you can smell their earthy fragrance and the water’s surface starts to foam, about 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, refresh them under cold water, and squeeze as dry as possible. Place in a large bowl. Squeeze out the water from the blanched potato slivers and place in the bowl with the mushrooms.

• Season with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, chili oil, scallion oil, and sesame oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped cilantro at the end and mix thoroughly to incorporate.

• Taste and adjust as necessary, adding more vinegar for brightness, sugar for sweetness, and extra salt or chili oil for savoriness. This dish should be zingy and sharp, with a nice warm glow of spiciness.

• Enjoy immediately or chill before serving. The leftovers are delicious cold, and you can keep this dish in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to make Homemade Chili Oil

📖 Recipe

Chinese Slivered Potato Salad 凉拌土豆丝

A Chinese cold dish made with blanched al dente potato ‘threads’, seasoned with sharp, zingy vinaigrette and richly aromatic chili oil. Slightly spicy, refreshing, and crisp-crunchy to the bite.

• Author: Hannah
• Prep Time: 25
• Cook Time: 5
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Category: Cold Dishes
• Method: Blanch
• Cuisine: Chinese
• Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450 grams) Yukon gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes*, about 3 small
• 1 bundle (7 ounces / 200 grams) enoki mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
• 1 ½ tablespoons pale rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• ¼ teaspoon MSG, or ½ teaspoon mushroom bouillon powder
• 2 tablespoons red chili oil with sediment (or oil from a jar of Laoganma Chili Crisp)
• 1 teaspoon scallion oil
• ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¾ cup roughly chopped cilantro, stems and leaves

Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the potatoes into thin ⅛-inch rounds. Stack and cut into thin, 1/16-inch slivers or julienne. You can also use a food processor with the grater blade. Rinse the threads under cold water to wash off the starch.
2. Trim off the root end of the enoki mushroom bunch. Tear it into smaller clusters, each about two or three mushrooms thick. Place in a separate bowl.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the potatoes until they are softened but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of cold water.
4. Bring the water back to a boil and blanch the mushrooms until you can smell their earthy fragrance and the water’s surface starts to foam, about 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, refresh them under cold water, and squeeze as dry as possible. Place in a large bowl. Squeeze out the water from the blanched potato slivers and place in the bowl with the mushrooms.
5. Add the salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, chili oil, scallion oil, and sesame oil. Add the minced garlic and cilantro and mix thoroughly to incorporate. Taste and adjust as necessary, adding more vinegar for brightness, sugar for sweetness, and extra salt or chili oil for savoriness. This dish should be zingy and sharp, with a nice warm glow of spiciness. 
6. Enjoy immediately or chill before serving. The leftovers are delicious cold, and you can keep this dish in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

• *You can also use regular (Russet) white-fleshed potatoes or red potatoes, but I prefer yellow potatoes for their waxy texture and gold-hued color. 
• This dish is all about aroma, so a good, flavorful chili oil is crucial. It’s very easy to make your own chili oil and you can keep the jar indefinitely in the fridge. For a good store-bought alternative, use Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp. 

Keywords: potato, potato slivers, chinese potato salad, enoki mushrooms

So these potatoes somehow became my most popular Instagram post of this year, and I figured I’d better post the recipe up on the blog before the end of 2018! Here are the crispy spuds in all their glory.

What are hasselback potatoes?

Hasselback potatoes are essentially just baked potatoes, but sliced with thin vertical cuts, almost down to the bottom. The result is wondrous: each potato has the crispy, golden edges of potato fries, but also an interior as soft and creamy as starchy mashed potatoes.

These potatoes are delicious with just salt and pepper, but for a more interesting flavor combination I drizzled on a tangy lime cilantro sauce and a creamy tahini sauce, with a hemp parmesan topping for additional umami (recipes all included below!).

Bring these as a side-dish or appetizer to your next gathering or potluck: they’re gluten-free and vegan and nut-free, as well.

How to make Mini Hasselback Roasted Potatoes:

Prepare potatoes.

Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Using a sharp knife, cut mini potatoes hasselback style (make thin, deep slices an ⅛ inch apart, stopping before you get to the bottom). I like to lay a pair of chopsticks on either side of the base of the potato to prevent the knife from cutting all the way through.

Bake in the oven.

Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle on half of the olive oil. Toss with salt and pepper to coat (season generously!), and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle the fanned-out slices with remaining olive oil and fresh or dried herbs and roast for another 25-30 minutes until tender and golden brown.

prep sauces.

For the creamy tahini sauce, whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until combined, adding as much water as needed to achieve desired consistency. For the green sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Serve!

You can drizzle the sauces on top or served as a dip on the side. Garnish with hemp parmesan* and additional chopped cilantro.

Notes for making Mini Roasted Hasselback Potatoes:

• For the crispiest edges, be sure to remove the potatoes when they’re halfway done and brush with additional olive oil. It’s also a good time to sprinkle some fresh chopped herbs on top, as the slices will have fanned out in the oven.
• Top with my easy hemp parmesan! Recipe here. It adds a wonderful smoky cheesiness to the dish.

If you made this recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below. Or tag me on Instagram @hannah__chia, I love seeing your re-creations!

Follow me on Pinterest and save this recipe for later!

📖 Recipe

Mini Hasselback Roasted Potatoes with Avocado Lime Cilantro Sauce

Tasty little potato morsels— buttery and soft on the inside with crunchy, crisp edges, paired with an avocado lime dressing and a tahini garlic sauce. Always a popular side or appetizer! Vegan and gluten-free.

• Author: Hannah

Ingredients

Potatoes

• 1 ½ lbs mini gold or fingerling potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• fresh chopped or dried rosemary/thyme/parsley/garlic powder (optional)

Tahini Garlic Sauce

• ⅓ cup (85g) tahini
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 3 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 4–5 tablespoon water
• ½ tsp salt

Avocado Cilantro Sauce

• 1 small bunch cilantro (sub basil or parsley), with some reserved for garnish
• 3 cloves garlic
• half a jalapeño pepper (for heat)
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• ½ the flesh of a medium avocado (sub 1 tbsp olive oil)
• 2 tbsp water
• ½ tsp each salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F (220C). Using a sharp knife, cut mini potatoes hasselback style (make thin, deep slices an ⅛ inch apart, stopping before you get to the bottom). I like to lay a pair of chopsticks on either side of the base of the potato to prevent the knife from cutting all the way through.
2. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle on half of the olive oil. Toss with salt and pepper to coat (season generously!), and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle the fanned-out slices with remaining olive oil and fresh or dried herbs and roast for another 25-30 minutes until tender and golden brown.
3. In the meantime, prep sauces. For tahini sauce, whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until combined, adding as much water as needed to achieve desired consistency. For green sauce, combine all ingredients in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth.
4. Serve immediately, with the sauces either drizzled on top or served as a dip on the side. Garnish with hemp parmesan and additional chopped cilantro.

Notes

• You can use regular-sized gold or russet potatoes; just adjust the baking time for longer.
• Find my easy hemp parmesan recipe here! It adds a wonderful smoky cheesiness to the dish.

For best results, first soak the eggplant in salted water, and then toss it in cornstarch— this ensures it’ll stays nice and crispy when frying.

In the wok, add vegetables according to their cooking time: potatoes first (they take the longest), followed by the eggplant, bell pepper, and the aromatics (scallion and garlic). At the end, the vegetables all go back into the pan along with the sauce ingredients. Give everything a toss and it’s ready to serve over rice.

If you made this eggplant dish or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and a rating below! Also be sure to follow along on Pinterest and Instagram for all the latest recipes.

📖 Recipe

Stir-Fried Eggplant, Potato, and Pepper (Di San Xian 地三鲜)

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

A delicious Chinese stir-fry of eggplant, potato, and bell pepper, tossed in a wok with garlic, scallion, and soy sauce. 

• Author: Hannah
• Prep Time: 15
• Cook Time: 10
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 3
• Category: Side Dishes
• Method: Cook
• Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

• 2 long Chinese eggplants
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 large potato, peeled
• 1 bell pepper (I used half green and half red)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp salt, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. Cut eggplants into angled, bite-sized pieces, about 1-inch in width. Soak in slightly salted water for 10 minutes, then pat dry to remove excess moisture. In the meantime, cut potato and bell pepper into similar bite-sized pieces. Combine Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar, white pepper, and sesame oil in a small bowl.
2. Toss eggplant pieces in a bowl with 2 tablespoon cornstarch until coated. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add potatoes, and fry until browned and cooked through, around 7-8 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 1 more minute, then remove both from pan.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the coated eggplant pieces to the wok, frying until well-cooked, around 3-4 minutes. Remove from wok. Finally, add the chopped scallion and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add all vegetables back to the wok. Give sauce mixture a stir and add to the wok as well, stirring until vegetables are well coated. Serve hot over rice.

Notes

• Substitute tamari for soy sauce to ensure gluten-free.
• You can use any kind of heat-tolerant cooking oil; I prefer grapeseed or avocado oil.

I made this in my instant pot last week! It’s super quick (pressure-cook time is 3 minutes) and requires minimal cleanup. The recipe makes a lot but you can half it if you only want 3-4 servings, or you can save the rest as meal prep.

Instant Pot Potato Pea Curry (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Spicy, comforting potato pea curry that’s delicious with naan or rice.

[cooked-sharing]

• If you don't have an Instant Pot, follow instructions as written but saute in a large saucepan over medium heat, and then bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are tender. 

Loaded baked sweet potato fries with curried red lentils, crispy crackly roasted shishito peppers, and a creamy garlic lime tahini sauce. 

Loaded Sweet Potato Fries (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

[cooked-sharing]

• *I used canned pre-cooked lentils, but you can also cook your own. Rinse and drain 1 cup dry lentils, place in a saucepan and cover with 3 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender.