Crispy potato sticks are tossed in spicy, sweet, and aromatic sauce will get you hooked for sure. Tips for kering kentang garing (crispy) without any chemicals.



Kering kentang is one of the popular Indonesian side dishes that you’ll often seen served with plain rice or nasi kuning or nasi tumpeng. Kering means dry and kentang means potatoes in Indonesian and garing (renyah) means crispy. So you can say that the direct translation is “crispy dried potatoes”. Doesn’t sound as good, does it? It pretty much means crispy potatoes.

The potatoes are fried until crispy and then tossed in spicy, sweet, slightly tangy, and aromatic thick sauce. It’s super addicting! Kering kentang is loved by most Indonesians that’s for sure!

HOW TO MAKE SURE FRIED POTATOES ARE CRISPY

Kering kentang may get soggy a few minutes or hours after you make it. Many people will soak the potatoes in air kapur sirih (lime stone paste) to make sure the potatoes stay crispy longer. I do not want to do that and you don’t have to. This kering kentang stays crispy for one whole day actually. Here’s how:

1. SOAK THE CUT POTATOES

Soaking the already-cut potatoes will draw out extra starches from the potatoes that usually make the potatoes soggy. Soak the potatoes for a minimum of 2 hours.

2. UNIFORM SIZE AND CUT

I highly encourage you to use a mandoline slicer or grater to cut the potatoes into uniform size and cut. The potatoes will get cooked at the same time.

3. CUT AS THIN AS POSSIBLE

When you cut the potatoes thin enough, they stay crispy longer after you cut them, which is again, back to no.2, better to use equipment than manually cut to get the best result.

4. AVOID USING FRESH SHALLOTS IN THE RECIPE

I love shallots, but I won’t encourage you to include fresh shallots in this recipe because there is moisture in shallots that will make the kering kentang soggy fast. I sprinkle in bawang goreng instead.

CAN I AIR FRY THE POTATOES INSTEAD OF DEEP FRYING FOR KERING KENTANG?

Yes you can, though the results are not as optimal compared to when I deep-fried them. The color is not as even. If you choose to air fry, here’s what to do:

1. Pat the potato sticks dry with an absorbent paper towel after soaking

2. Toss the potato sticks with one Tbsp of oil and with about 1 Tbsp of cornstarch. Cornstarch helps to absorb excess moisture

3. You need to air fry in small batches and try not to stack too much in the fryer. Air fry at 350 F for 5-10 minutes (time varies depending on your air fryer and the size of your potato sticks) or until they are golden brown and crispy

HOW TO MAKE REALLY GOOD KERING KENTANG GARING

1. PEEL AND CUT POTATOES

Peel the potatoes and use a mandoline slicer if you have one to cut the potatoes into uniform size sticks. This is important and will make your life easier when you fry them. They are cooked and get crispy at the same time. You can manually cut them too, it’s more work!

2. SOAK THE POTATOES

Soak the potato sticks 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



Pat the potatoes dry after that





3. FRY THE POTATOES

Preheat about 1 1/2-inches of cooking oil over high heat. When you dip a chopstick into an 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. Continue frying the next batch.



4. PREPARE THE SPICED PASTE

Preheat 1 Tbsp of cooking oil in a large pan/wok. Add the kaffir lime leaves and Thai chili and fry briefly, about 10 seconds or so.



Add the rest of the ingredients above and bay leaves. 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. Sprinkle in the bawang goreng and stir again to mix. Transfer to a serving bowl.



HOW LONG WILL KERING KENTANG STAY CRISPY?

Kering kentang is best served on the same day. The kering kentang will stay crispy for one whole day. The next day, they will get significantly soggy, which is normal as the moisture from the sauce continues to soften the potatoes.



THINGS YOU CAN ADD TO KERING KENTANG

It’s not uncommon to add things like: roasted peanuts, dried anchovies, fried tempeh (tempe). I highly recommend that you fry these ingredients separately and then add them in when you are about to toss the potatoes to the sauce. This helps to keep the kering kentang crispy.



DID YOU MAKE THIS EASIEST KERING KENTANG 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 “wet” version of kering kentang, we call it sambal goreng kentang is also equally delicious. My mom made sambal goreng kentang so often when we were kids and it was one of my favorites for sure.