Mini Thai Tornado Potatoes with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Last year Sue and I entered the Little Potato Company's recipe contest. Sue entered her Turkey Dinner Meatballs (RECIPE HERE), which are basically a whole turkey dinner in one bite! And I entered this recipe here. I was super excited to make it to the Top 5 in the contest with these delicious little morsels. Unfortunately I didn't win the grand prize but I was (and still am) so stoked to have made it to the Top 5. 

I hope you give these a try and let us know what you think. I am proud of this creation and it has since become a family favorite for get-togethers and special occasions. It can be a little bit fussy because of having to deep fry the skewers BUT, believe me, it is totally worth it! 

Mini Thai Tornado Potatoes with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Peanut Dipping Sauce

1 cup chicken broth

5 Tbsp peanut butter

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp sriracha

1 tsp ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Tornado Potatoes

1.5 lb bag of Little Potato Company potatoes (I used Blushing Belle)

8 Tbsp flour

4 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp baking powder

Water to make a batter

Other Ingredients

Oil for deep frying (about a litre)

Cilantro or parsley for garnish

Directions

Prepare peanut dipping sauce – Place chicken broth, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, ginger, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring often until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Set aside.

 Prepare tornado potatoes – Take a skewer and place one potato on it. Use a sharp knife and cut on a diagonal all around the potato on the skewer from top to bottom. Carefully pull the potato apart slightly so you can see space between the spirals. Repeat until all of the potatoes are spiraled on skewers.

Heat oil to 350 degrees in a large pot (It takes about 10 - 15 minutes to heat the oil so I usually start the oil when I am halfway done cutting the potatoes on the skewers.)

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, curry powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and baking powder. 

Slowly whisk in a little water at a time until you have a batter that is a little thinner than pancake batter.

Pour the batter into a tall drinking glass. (It may not all fit, continue to add more batter as it gets low) This will make it easier to dip the potatoes. Dip a potato in the batter to cover completely. 

Gently shake off any extra. Place the potato in the hot oil. Repeat with one or two more potatoes but don’t crowd them in the oil. Cook for 3 minutes in the hot oil, until potatoes are crispy. Remove from oil to paper towel or wire rack with paper towel underneath. 

Continue to dip and fry remaining potatoes.

Transfer potatoes to serving platter and serve hot with the peanut dipping sauce. Garnish with cilantro or parsley. 

These are best served hot but are still okay at room temperature. 

I would count this as making 10 - 12 servings of 2 potatoes each. 

Guys... these are so tasty and fun! I mean, anything on a stick gets points for coolness already but these are going to get you voted favorite person in the room guaranteed. The peanut sauce is amazing and can be made up a day or two ahead of time to save on time. 

I might not have won the top prize in the recipe contest but I'm still going to brag about this recipe! It's one of the ones I am most proud of in my recipe developing career. We'd love to hear your feedback if you give it a try!