Autumn snack – savoury taro pancake

The second taro recipe in this autumn, the previous one, Early Autumn seasonal food – How to cook braised duck and taro is in my recent post.

Autumn and winter is the season of root vegetable. Though taro is available almost year round, it’s particularly creamy, starchy and sweet in autumn. Like many other root vegetable, such as potato, taro can be made into savoury pancake. And for better taste and crispy edges, fat is the must-have. So in this recipe, I mix with a little pork mince and pan-fry with generous oil.

Cooking tips –
1. Shred the taro thinly and roughly for a complex texture;
2. Though taro is starchy, it would easily break after cooking. A little flour would help to glue;
3. Generous oil would make the pancake crispier. Pan-fry in medium heat with lid on till the pancake is cooked thoroughly then turn high heat to crisp the edges.

Ingredients –
Taro, medium size, half;
Pork mince, 150g;
Mini dry shrimp, 1tbsp;
All-purposes flour, 3tbsp;
Spring onion, 1 stalk;
Garlic, 1 clove;
Light soy sauce, corn starch, black prepper, salt and sugar.

How to do –
1. Dry mini shrimps soaked in water for 10 minutes till turn soft, finely chopped; Garlic also finely chopped. Mix them with pork mince, seasoned with 1tbsp of light soy sauce, 1/2tsp of sugar, 1tbsp of cornstarch, 1 nip of freshly grated black pepper, mix well;

.
.
.
.
2. Taro peeled and cut off the tough parts on the two edges, shredded;

3. In a big mixing bowl, put in the pork mince, shredded taro, 3tbsp of all-purposes flour, a handful of thinly chopped spring onion, a nip of salt, a few tablespoon of water, mix well;

4. In a non-stick pan, heat some oil, take some taro mixture and roll to balls, put in the pan, gently press down. This pancake shouldn’t be too big. In order to cook thoroughly, pan-fry in medium heat for 2 minutes each side, with lid on. Then turn to high heat, pan-fry each side for 10 seconds till golden and crispy. Whip off extra oil with kitchen towel;

5. Serve hot and they would be crispy on the edges and soft inside. I would like to eat with Sriracha Hot Sauce and a pinch of roasted sesame seeds.