Kimchee Cracklings and Those Who Got Us There

I used to eat a fair number of cheetos as a kid.  The light crisp texture and the staining orange cheese powder were too addictive to avoid.  Over time I have leaned towards the simple salinity and crispness of potato chips rather then the puffed crunch of cheetos.  Recently I have become interested in the light as air nature of puffed materials.  The spark has come from several sources.  Reiko, Aki’s mom, continues to send a variety of Japanese snacks with intense flavors and light as air texture.  I have read about though not eaten the various puffs/crisps produced by Grant Achatz and team Alinea.  I have also revisited the El Bulli book 1998-2002 which features a number of puffed snacks.  These three have been the key influences in wanting to tackle the notion of puffed fried crisps.  Actually, to me they have become crackling’ varietals.

I had much difficulty in sourcing a base recipe for what I wanted to do.  In retrospect, I have a variety books which had the answer, I was just looking at the problem from the wrong angle.  So, I must thank, Chef Sean Brock  of McCrady’s restaurant, Shola Olunloyo of Studio Kitchen fame andNathan Myhrvold a serious gastronome with a knack for finding enough research to answer almost any question.

With that said, I took the information from these three individuals and was able to work out a base recipe for ramp kimchee cracklings.  Each added some specific insight which enabled me to generate a recipe for my immediate needs.  Now of course I have a huge number of variations to explore from clam chowder to passionfruit.

Here is our recipe:

200g coarse ground tapioca
220g moist ramp kimchee
20g kimchee liquid

Puree the three ingredients in a food processor until a smooth dough is formed.  Divide the dough into two portions and roll into thin cylinders about an inch in diameter.  Place the cylinder on a sheet of plastic wrap and cover with another sheet.  Roll the cylinder out into a flat thin sheet.  The dough should be nearly translucent.  Repeat with the other cylinder.  Steam the dough sheets, still in plastic, in a steamer for fifteen minutes.  We are able to use a hotel pan to make a long steamer so both sheets fit lengthwise on top of each other.  If you have a smaller steamer, cut the sheets into portions that fit in your steamer.  Once the dough is steamed, remove it from the plastic wrap and lay it out on a parchment lined rack on a sheet pan to allow for even airflow.  Place the pan in a 180 degree F oven and allow the dough to dry.  Flip the dough sheets occasionally to allow for even drying.  When the sheets are completely dry and brittle, remove them from the oven and allow to cool.  Break or cut the dough crisps into pieces and then fry in 350 degree F oil.  The crisps will puff quickly and triple in size.  Remove from the oil onto a paper towel lined rack.  Season the crisps lightly with salt.  Enjoy.

Comments

[franck]

Wow, nice I love crispy garnishes, they add beauty and texture to a plate. I have thought of the idea of using the method for making prawn crackers as a way to make other puffed garnishes or using pig skin(but that has it problems for people who cannot consume pork). Questions if you do not mind. So I am guessing that the tapioca is mainly the vehicule for any flavor wich you want to add? and are you simply grinding tapi oca balls? or is there a type of coarse tapioca sold(like arrowroot). Finally would tapioca flour or starch work as well?? You are always pushing ahead with new ideas, its really admirable.

[Chris]

We kept saying we're going to figure this out and with everything else going on in the kitchen we never seemed to get to it. My porcini crackling's are drying as I'm typing this. Thanks for the info and inspiration.

[Noam Ben-Ami]

This reminds me of the crispy garbanzo beans I was recently served as a wonderful garnish in a salad at Vindalho, in Portland, Oregon. I liked them enough to try and replicate them. The technique is simply to cook them till they are fairly soft and then fry them.

This got me thinking about what was actually going on - which was that the water penetrated the starch in the beans and created large spaces inside of them. Frying simply removes the water (while generating new flavor molecules.)

So, your technique is roughly the same, with the tapioca starch playing the part of the garbanzo beans.

This seems like an opportunity for a generalized technique: Could you not replace the flavorless tapioca starch with garbanzo flour? Rice flour? If not, what is about tapioca flour that is so special?

Incidentally, I had the fried idiazabal cheese puff at Alinea. I'll also note that on Alinea's latest menu is an item that very prominently features a blis vinegar.