Potato pai

4 servings
30 min

Prepare the necessary ingredients for making Pye potatoes. This dish needs long large tubers - it is easier to work with them and the straws from large potatoes will turn out to be the desired length. The longer the straw, the easier it will be to pull out the potatoes with a spoon and do not have to catch individual small pieces. In addition, small pieces of potatoes quickly begin to burn in oil, while the rest of the potato is not yet ready.

This is how tubers should look like: large, even, oblong. Peel the potatoes and rinse thoroughly in cold water to wash all the starch off the surface. If this is not done, the potatoes will start to darken.

Quickly rub tubers on long thin strips. A special grater for Korean carrots is ideal for this. Grate potatoes in one direction from top to bottom. This is such an even long straw. You can cut potatoes and a regular knife, but it will take longer.

Fold the grated potatoes into a deep bowl and rinse thoroughly with cold running water to wash off the starch. At first, the water will be whitish from starch, but will gradually become transparent.

When the water becomes completely clear, all starch is removed. Potatoes need to be slightly squeezed out of excess water.

Tip the potato straws into a colander or sieve and let drain the water. Then transfer the potatoes to a towel and leave to dry for 10 minutes. You can additionally wet the straws with paper towels. All moisture must be removed from the potatoes, otherwise, when in contact with boiling oil, the water will start shooting and you will have to wash everything around from fat. Do not worry, the potatoes will no longer darken and will retain their golden color.

Pour vegetable oil into the saucepan and warm over a medium heat until light smoke comes from the oil. You can drip a drop of water into the saucepan. If the water boils, then the oil is warmed up properly. You need to fry potatoes on a medium or high heat (I had a mode of 7-8 out of 9).

Put a little potato straws in the hot oil so that it is completely covered with oil and fry until a ruddy crust appears on the potatoes. At first, the potatoes become very soft and the straws begin to stick to each other. Therefore, during roasting, potatoes must be periodically mixed with a fork (potatoes do not stick to it). It takes 3 to 6 minutes to fry each serving, depending on the potato variety and the power of the fire on your stove.

When the potatoes start to blush, the process goes literally for seconds - it is worth overexposing the potatoes and it will burn, so do not move away from the stove and monitor the process. Quickly remove the finished potatoes with a spoon and transfer to paper towels. Similarly, deep-fry the rest of the potato straws. Transfer all the potatoes to a large dish and sprinkle with fine salt. Serve immediately to the table. Enjoy your meal!