Spicy Tamarind-Glazed Potatoes - Recipe
There is a famous Thai dish known as Son-in-law Eggs. You’ll get the joke if you realize that eggs in Thai refer to the same part of the male anatomy as huevos in Spanish. To make Son-in-law Eggs, peeled hardboiled eggs are pan-fried or deep-fried until the outside gets wrinkled and brown, and then they are halved and served with a spicy tamarind sauce.
My vegan variation uses small potatoes instead. The sauce is quite fiery, but the creamy flesh of the potatoes mitigates your pain. Be sure and warn your guests not to eat the whole dried chiles, or remove them before serving.
These potatoes are great as a side dish in an Indian meal. Or, this might sound like crazy fusion-food talk, but my wife and I have also been known to wrap them up in a burrito with refried beans and sour cream.
[[box: Tamarind
Tamarind is the pulp from the pod of a tropical tree. It has a tart, fruity taste that is beloved in Southeast Asian, Indian and Mexican cuisines. It can be bought as whole pods, semi-dried pulp with seeds, or in concentrated thick-syrup form.
If you buy the pods or pulp, they must be soaked in boiling water. You then remove the skin, seeds and strings and force the remaining pulp through a fine sieve. Honestly, this is a messy, sticky, tedious job. I generally buy the concentrate instead. The brand you will usually find is called Tamcon. Look for it at Asian or Indian groceries. ]]
Spicy Tamarind-Glazed Potatoes
Vegan and gluten-free / serves 4 / 30 minutes
- 2 pounds very small (2-3 bite) potatoes
- Kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil for the potatoes plus 1 more for the sauce
- 10 thin, hot dried red chiles such as chili de arbol
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup minced shallot
- ¼ cup palm sugar (break up first) or dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or 5 tablespoons sieved tamarind pulp
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ cup shelled, unsalted peanuts
- 1 handful cilantro leaves and tender stems, washed and dried
- 4 green onions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
- Put the potatoes in a pot that holds at least 4 quarts. Fill nearly to the top with cold water and add 2 tablespoons of salt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, then continue to cook until tender but not falling apart (usually about ten minutes after they reach a boil). Drain.
- Put the same pot back over high heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the potatoes and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt and cook until browned in spots, tossing occasionally and gently, about 8 minutes. Remove the potatoes, leaving as much oil behind as possible.
- Lower the heat on the empty pot to medium. Add one more tablespoon of oil, and the chiles, garlic, shallot and palm sugar. Fry for one minute. Add the tamarind concentrate, ½ cup water, and the soy sauce. Cook, stirring well, until the sauce is slightly sticky, about five minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning – it should be quite intense.
- Add the potatoes and cook, tossing occasionally, until the sauce is glazing the potatoes, about five more minutes. Be careful not to let the sauce burn.
- If the peanuts are raw, toast them until lightly browned and fragrant in a toaster oven or a dry skillet over medium-low heat.
- Just before serving, stir in the peanuts. Garnish with the cilantro and green onion.
