Glass Potato Chips

I have a weakness. 

A big one. 

Actually, it's like a disease. 

That is, I can't say 'no' to my children. 

3 days ago, when my kids saw this page from instructables.com, they promptly expressed their amazing idea that Mom (the kitchen ninja) should try and make some, too.

And somewhere in between folding laundry and washing the dog, I haphazardly said 'yes' (or maybe unconsciously, I don't know. That moment had become one big blur....).

So I did it.

Every step in the instruction was followed meticulously, the end result surprisingly tasted like, well.....potato chips. 

Delicious, savory, herby potato chips

But they are very, very impressive, nevertheless.

Impressive enough to get that "It's awesome, Mom!" from my offsprings.

Impressive enough to get that "O Mi Gosh!! You did not, like, make these yourself, did you? I mean, It's like, whatever...It's like, friggin' cool! It's boss!" from my kid's teenage friends. (Boss??)

And impressive enough to get "You need to get out more!" from hubby.

Maybe he's right.....

And I still need to learn to say 'no'....

Ingredients:

• 8 red potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt
• 4 cups water
• 4 tablespoons potato starch
• Fresh herbs (I used rosemary), optional

You will also need:

• Parchment paper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Baking sheets

Directions:

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Wash the potatoes in cold water and dry them using paper towel. 

Place the potatoes on a cutting board, and using a knife, make a vertical slit on each of them, about 1 inch deep. 

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl, add olive oil, salt and herbs (if using), toss to combine. 

Place the potatoes in a large deep baking dish, bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Note: I accidentally deleted the picture for this step. Now I don't have any.

Step 2:

While the potatoes are baking, pour 4 cups of water into a medium pot and bring it to the temperature right under a boil. 

Remove the potatoes from the oven. Pour the hot water directly into the baking dish. 

Cover the top of the dish and let it sit for 2 hours in room temperature.

Remove the potatoes and save for another dish.

Strain the liquid using fine mesh strainer. 

Place the stock in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for a few hours, preferably overnight.

Step 3:

Pour the chilled stock into medium pot and cook over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons of potato starch and whisk immediately to blend. Continue cooking and whisking until the stock turns into gel form.

Step 4:

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. (The recipe called for 135 degrees, but 170 is the lowest my oven can go. This works, too.)

Line a baking sheet with a parchment paper.

Drop about 1/2 teaspoon of gel onto the paper, to form small dots, at least 2 inches apart.

Using the back of a small spoon, spread the dots to make them thinner (I used another piece of parchment paper to cover the dots, press them down slightly to form the semi-thin circles). Make sure that your circles are not too thin, as they will break when you fry them.

Place the baking sheet(s) in the oven and let the chips dry for several hours, or overnight. Properly dried chips will come off the parchment paper by themselves. Un-fried chips will look like the one in the picture below.

Step 5:

Pour the vegetable oil into a frying pan. Heat the oil on low setting and fry the chips, a few at the time. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, if desired.

This recipe will make a truck load of potato chips.

Note: If the oil is too hot, the chips will lose the 'glass' texture and will look like pork rind. Make sure to keep the oil temperature low at all time. Run some tests until you reach the desired temperature.