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Crispy and thinly sliced potato chips are coated with aromatic sweet and spicy sambal. This is no ordinary potato chips you have to try! This tutorial is to show you how to make the keripik/potato chips from scratch and short-cut keripik kentang balado using store-bought potato chips.
Keripik Kentang Balado (Crispy Sambal Potato Chips)
After making this Kering Kentang last month, I knew I had to make this keripik kentang (potato chips version) of it. My kids and husbands and pretty much anyone who has been exposed to this, can’t stop eating it 🙂 It’s really good for real!
It’s kinda hilarious that my two kiddos actually learned how to eat spicy food because of kering kentang and keripik kentang 🙂 They love them so much that they are willing to put up with the heat. LOL. Of course, I didn’t make it super spicy. I actually toned down on the spicyness so that they could try it and I was so glad I did because now, they don’t mind eating sambal with their meals! (mission accomplished!)
HOW TO MAKE KERIPIK KENTANG BALADO
1. THINLY SLICE THE POTATOES AND SOAK IN WATER
Use a mandoline slicer to cut the potatoes thinly and then soak in cold water for at least 2 hours. You can do it overnight too if you plan ahead. Drain all water and pat the potato slices dry
2. FRY THE POTATOES
Heat the oil to high and then lower to medium when ready to fry the potatoes. Fry in small batches until golden brown and crispy and place on the absorbent paper towel
3. MAKE THE SAMBAL
Preheat oil in a large pan/wok. Add shallots and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the kaffir lime leaves and fry briefly, about 10 seconds or so. Add the rest of the ingredients above and cook until the sauce thickens to a syrup consistency
Add the fried potatoes into the sauce and turn off the heat.
Stir to make sure the sauce is coating the potatoes. Transfer to a serving bowl and let them cool down completely and then serve
IMPORTANT TIPS YOU NEED TO KNOW
1. USE MANDOLINE SLICER
I highly recommend using a mandoline slicer to slice the potatoes thinly. The potatoes need to be thin so they are crispy. They will also have equal thickness and roughly the same size and this is important so that your keripik will cook at roughly the same time. If you don’t have one already, I recommend to look into this one.
2. BAKE IN THE OVEN
The baking help to preserve the crispiness of the keripik. They stay crispy and won’t get soggy
SHORT CUT KERIPIK BALADO USING STORE-BOUGHT POTATO CHIPS
Using store-bought potato chips to make keripik balado has changed my life forever! It saves so much time and all I need to do is prepare the sambal balado. It’s so much easier and it tastes just as good if not better!
What kind of potato chips to use?
You can use any of your favorite brands of potato chips. Choose the original flavor, meaning without another flavoring such as sour cream and onion, cheese, etc. We don’t want any of those flavors to mix with the original keripik balado flavor.
DID YOU MAKE THIS KERIPIK KENTANG BALADO RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
The recipe was last published in 2019 and has been updated on June 26, 2022 to include short-cut keripik balado and to improve the recipe.
Keripik Kentang Balado (Crispy Sambal Potato Chips)
Ingredients
If you want to make the keripik from scratch:
- 500 gr potatoes
- Cooking oil to fry potatoes
Using store-bought potato chips:
- 150 gr potato chips choose original flavor and omit salt in the recipe. See notes
Sambal balado:
- 50 gr cooking oil
- 2 shallots finely minced
- 4 kaffir lime leaves remove the vein in the middle, use a scissor to cut into tiny pieces
- 2 bay leaves or 4 dried bay leaves
- 1 Thai chili seeded and thinly sliced (optional)
- 100 gr sambal oelek or use chili paste
- 100 gr sugar
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp galangal powder
- ¼ tsp salt omit if using store-bought potato chips
Instructions
Cut and soak potatoes
- You can choose to peel or not to peel the potato. I wash and scrub the skin real clean and leave the peel on. Use a mandoline slicer to cut the potatoes into thin slice chips. I do not recommend cutting them manually as the thickness will not be the same and that affects the cooking time
- Soak the potato slices in fresh cold water for at least 2 hours (overnight is fine too) and then drain off all the water and starch that leaks out. Do not skip the soaking part
- Use an absorbent paper towel and pat the potatoes dry
Fry the potatoes:
- Preheat about 1 1/2-inches of cooking oil over high heat. When you dip a chopstick into a oil and it bubbles around the chopstick, the oil is ready. Or you can just put one piece of potato in there and if it bubbles and floats, the oil is ready. Lower the heat to medium
- You need to fry the potatoes in 3-4 batches. DO NOT dump all at one go. Place the first batch in and fry until the potatoes are crispy and golden brown. Remove to an absorbent paper towel and let them cool in one layer to prevent sogginess. Continue frying the next batch until you run out of the sliced potatoes
- If you want them to be extra crispy, you can fry them one more time after they have cooled down for 10 minutes or so. The second frying is quick. So keep an eye on them so they don't get burnt
Make the sambal:
- Preheat oil in a large pan/wok. Add shallots and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add the kaffir lime leaves and fry briefly, about 10 seconds or so. Add the rest of the ingredients above and cook until the sauce thickens to a syrup consistency
- Add the fried potatoes into the sauce and turn off the heat. Use two spatulas to gently toss the fried potato chips to make sure the sambal is coating the potato chips. Some pieces may be stuck together as the sugar caramelizes and that's normal. Transfer to a serving bowl. The keripik will crisp up as they cool down
To make the keripik stay crisp longer (optional):
- Spread the keripik on a large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 F (160 C) in the middle rack for 5 minutes. You need to keep an eye on them as there are sugar coating the chips so it may get burned if you bake for too long
- Let them cool down completely and they will stay crispy for a really long time. Store them in air-tight container at room temperature
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
Marv's Recipe Notes
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
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