This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes— a crunchy potato sliver salad dressed with a sharp, zingy vinaigrette and aromatic chili oil. You’ll find served in restaurants across China as an appetizer.
In Chinese cuisine, potatoes aren’t considered a staple food or main starch, but a vegetable that you can prepare as a seasoned dish to go with rice, or cai 菜. Thinly slivered into “threads” (tudousi), the potatoes are usually cooked until al dente— tender but still slightly crunchy. My dad loves to stir-fry potato slivers or blanch them for a liangban (cold-dressed) dish like this one.
The key to these dishes is to soak the cut potato threads and rinse off as much starch as possible, and cook them just long enough so they’re no longer raw but still crisp to the bite. This al dente potato texture isn’t very common in the West, where potatoes are eaten starchy and soft, but it’s beloved in Chinese cooking and called shuang cui 爽脆, or “refreshingly crunchy.”
The enoki mushrooms in this dish are optional, but I love adding them for a chewy, slippery texture. They also bulk up the salad with volume and fiber (and savoriness!).
Instructions/Tips
- Any type of potato will work, but I like using gold potatoes because of their waxy texture (they’re not as floury or starchy as Russet) and their warm, jewel-toned color. I picked up these beautiful yellow-fleshed new potatoes at the farmer’s market here in Portland.
- Peel the potatoes. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the potatoes into thin ⅛-inch rounds. Stack and cut into thin slivers. You can also use a food processor with the grater blade. Place in a large bowl of cold water and rinse several times to wash the starch from the potatoes.
- Trim off the root end of the enoki mushroom bunch. Tear it into smaller clusters, each about two or three mushrooms thick.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the potatoes until they are softened but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of water to cool. Bring the water back to a boil and blanch the mushrooms until you can smell their earthy fragrance and the water’s surface starts to foam, about 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, refresh them under cold water, and squeeze as dry as possible. Place in a large bowl. Squeeze out the water from the blanched potato slivers and place in the bowl with the mushrooms.
- Season with salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, chili oil, scallion oil, and sesame oil. Add the minced garlic and chopped cilantro at the end and mix thoroughly to incorporate.
- Taste and adjust as necessary, adding more vinegar for brightness, sugar for sweetness, and extra salt or chili oil for savoriness. This dish should be zingy and sharp, with a nice warm glow of spiciness.
- Enjoy immediately or chill before serving. The leftovers are delicious cold, and you can keep this dish in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
How to make Homemade Chili Oil
Print📖 Recipe
Chinese Slivered Potato Salad 凉拌土豆丝
A Chinese cold dish made with blanched al dente potato ‘threads’, seasoned with sharp, zingy vinaigrette and richly aromatic chili oil. Slightly spicy, refreshing, and crisp-crunchy to the bite.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Cold Dishes
- Method: Blanch
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) Yukon gold or other yellow-fleshed potatoes*, about 3 small
- 1 bundle (7 ounces / 200 grams) enoki mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or gluten-free tamari
- 1 ½ tablespoons pale rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon MSG, or ½ teaspoon mushroom bouillon powder
- 2 tablespoons red chili oil with sediment (or oil from a jar of Laoganma Chili Crisp)
- 1 teaspoon scallion oil
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ¾ cup roughly chopped cilantro, stems and leaves
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes. Using a mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the potatoes into thin ⅛-inch rounds. Stack and cut into thin, 1/16-inch slivers or julienne. You can also use a food processor with the grater blade. Rinse the threads under cold water to wash off the starch.
- Trim off the root end of the enoki mushroom bunch. Tear it into smaller clusters, each about two or three mushrooms thick. Place in a separate bowl.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the potatoes until they are softened but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl of cold water.
- Bring the water back to a boil and blanch the mushrooms until you can smell their earthy fragrance and the water’s surface starts to foam, about 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms with a slotted spoon, refresh them under cold water, and squeeze as dry as possible. Place in a large bowl. Squeeze out the water from the blanched potato slivers and place in the bowl with the mushrooms.
- Add the salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, chili oil, scallion oil, and sesame oil. Add the minced garlic and cilantro and mix thoroughly to incorporate. Taste and adjust as necessary, adding more vinegar for brightness, sugar for sweetness, and extra salt or chili oil for savoriness. This dish should be zingy and sharp, with a nice warm glow of spiciness.
- Enjoy immediately or chill before serving. The leftovers are delicious cold, and you can keep this dish in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- *You can also use regular (Russet) white-fleshed potatoes or red potatoes, but I prefer yellow potatoes for their waxy texture and gold-hued color.
- This dish is all about aroma, so a good, flavorful chili oil is crucial. It’s very easy to make your own chili oil and you can keep the jar indefinitely in the fridge. For a good store-bought alternative, use Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp.
Keywords: potato, potato slivers, chinese potato salad, enoki mushrooms
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