How to Fry Ngaku (Arrowhead) Chips

Sue is a mother and grandmother living in sunny Malaysia. Like many Malaysians, she is passionate about food.

Tasty Snack During Chinese New Year

Arrowhead chips are a snack that is very popular during Chinese New Year. These vegetable chips are deep-fried in hot oil, and they are perfect for munching while enjoying your favorite holiday shows on TV. My family can go through jars of these chips, so it is much more economical for me to make them at home rather than buying them at the market.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 kg arrowhead
• Cooking oil

Instructions

1. Peel the arrowheads with a vegetable peeler. Do not cut off the stalk (i.e., keep it attached), as it will come in handy later.
2. Wash the arrowheads, removing any bits that may be attached to the stalks.
3. Slice off the bottom of the arrowhead so that it is nice and flat.
4. Hold the arrowhead by the stalk and slice thinly using a mandoline slicer. Holding it by the stalk ensures that you don't slice off your fingers in the process!
5. Heat oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot enough, deep-fry the chips. Put the chips in one slice at a time to prevent them from sticking together.

Tips and Techniques

• When choosing arrowheads, pick large ones. Avoid those with cracks, as they will not look appealing when you slice them.
• No need to add salt, as they are tasty enough as they are.
• When frying the chips, you will see the oil bubbling around each chip. Once the bubbling stops the chips are ready to be removed from the oil.

General tips

1. When choosing arrowheads, pick large ones. Avoid those with cracks, as they will not look appealing when you slice them.

2. No need to add salt, as they are tasty enough as they are.

3. When frying the chips, you will see the oil bubbling around each chip. Once the bubbling stops the chips are ready to be removed from the oil.

Earning Extra Income for the Festivities

Chinese New Year is a time when many enterprising folks will sell homemade cookies and delicacies to earn extra income.

Many customers prefer to buy homemade cookies, as opposed to those that are mass-produced by the factories. The logic is that the taste is better when quality ingredients are used to make them.

With arrowhead chips, many enterprising housewives will fry these in bulk and sell them in plastic jars at the morning market.

Questions & Answers

Question: Do I need to put the newly sliced arrowhead chips slices in the sun to dry them?

Answer: No, you don't need to dry them in the sun. You have to put the slices individually into the hot oil to fry or else they will stick together.

© 2016 Sue Mah