Potato Pancakes

One of my favorite dishes to make. It's crispy on the outside and chewy inside. But takes a great deal of arm work if you're making a lot so it's best to have others around to help.

 For every person, wash and peel one to two potatoes. Here's four potatoes for my family.

Grate them all like there's no tomorrow. While grating, the potatoes will sweat out water and starch. (and also oxidize to an unsightly color of mud-copper over time but that's totally fine.) After you're done grating, use a strainer to separate the potatoes from the liquid. I think my mom threw out the strainer so I used my clean hands. 

Let the liquid sit for about five minutes, that way the starch sinks to the bottom and the water sits on top. Taking out the water allows the potato mix to stick together and when cooked have that outer crispy layer. Dump the starch back to the grated potatoes.

Throw in about two stalks of chopped scallions for maximum flavor. Season with salt and any other spices you want. Mix well.

Finally turn on the stove. On a well-oiled fry pan, flatten the mixture into a pancake and let it cook. The pancake shouldn't be too thick. When the bottom is turning into a crispy, golden brown, it's time to flip it over. I don't flip it perfectly all the time and it falls apart. But the starch from potatoes make it easy to fix it back up! Continue to have the oil handy so the pancake doesn't burn and stick to the pan.

Potato pancakes are done when the other side is also golden brown and crispy. I love to eat it with watered down Vietnamese fish sauce. If it is too pungent for you, it's also great with a 1:3 ratio of vinegar and soy sauce. Or you can eat it by itself. Yum!