Taro Chips – Are you tired of potato chips or banana chips, that’s all. There is a new idea to bring crunchy chips to tempt family members, these are taro chips, yes chips from the tubers of the taro plant, delicious and nutritious. Taro chips are also known as Malanga chips. If in the tropics, you can easily enjoy these chips, the taro plant thrives in tropical areas like Indonesia, but until now there are still few who try to do business with taro chips. You can start early, these are delicious and nutritious chips.
What is taro? Ok, let me explain to you a little bit about Taro. Taro or in Indonesian called “taro” is a tuber plant with several other names. If you’ve never heard of “taro,” or Taro, you’ve probably heard other names for this plant. Among other names of Taro are eddo, macabo, kalo, dasheen, otoy, otoe, cocoyam and others depending on the area. The Taro plant belongs to the carbohydrate family. If you are looking for taro in the supermarket, please look around other root vegetables such as potatoes, usually Taro is placed next to potatoes.
See also: Ube Vs Taro – What’s The Difference?
Taro is a healthy food because it is rich in nutrients. This is a fiber rich tuber, also contains vitamins A, C, E, B6 and folate in large quantities. Other minerals present in Taro are magnesium, zinc, iron, potassium, phosphorus, manganese, and copper. taro is also part of a healthy Paleo diet. Even in some countries, taro is used as a substitute for potatoes in various foods.
In west Africa, taro is a very popular tuber and they consume this tuber like most people eat potatoes. They boil Taro, bake, some also puree and serve it in the form of vegetables. They rarely fry taro because this tuber is said to cause itching in the throat.
While in other parts of the world such as America, Hawaii, Poland and the Caribbean islands, they enjoy taro as a snack in the form of taro chips. These tubers are fried, roasted and enjoyed as a flavorful snack.
We can bake taro or fry it to make it a tempting chip and make most people addicted to it. Can also serve it with tomato sauce or chili sauce.
We love this snack as long as it’s crunchy, we love the flavorful taro chips or grilled taro.
Tips and Notes:
- If you want to treat taro as food, here are some tips to keep in mind!
- If you want to peel it, then first soak it in vinegar so it doesn’t cause itching.
- There are various types of Taro, you can use the one you like. Everything is edible, but be careful!
- Taro root changes quickly, it oxidizes quickly. If you want to turn them into chips or bake them, then work fast.
- If you can’t find taro in a supermarket, check Asian, Hispanic, and African markets. You can also look for it online. However, it is constrained by long shipping, which causes it to often break.
- You can use a mandolin, or a special knife or peeler, just make sure the tool or blade is thin so you can cut thin and fast. Divide the taro into sections so you can hold them.
- Soak the taro in water for 4 hours, it can also be overnight to remove substances that cause itching in the throat.
Recipe for making Taro Chips
Ingredients
- 1 large taro about 2-3 pounds
- Garlic salt, salt, or cajun spice
- The oil for frying
- Baking
- Coconut oil, or olive oil for brushing
Instructions
– Cut the taro into 2 parts or 4 so that it is easy to peel.
– Peel the taro skin using a sharp, thin knife, peeling carefully and not to remove most of the taro filling. If the taro is small, you can also use a special potato peeler so it doesn’t complicate your work.
– Look for damaged parts, such as discoloration, bruises, erase the damaged parts with your knife.
– After peeling, wash immediately to prevent discoloration of taro, leave in cold water until taro is ready to use (usually 24 hours)
– Slice the taro thinly using a slicer, you can use a mandolin
– Season with garlic salt, cajun seasoning or regular salt.
We’re done peeling and slicing the taro, now it’s time to bake or fry. Let’s see how!
Baked Taro
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, line the oven tin with foil, and coat it with cooking spray too
- Place the seasoned taro on the baking sheet in a single layer, lightly spraying over the roast. Bake for about 20 minutes, then flip to the other side for 10 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Serve warm or after chilling at room temperature, store in jars.
Also see: 8 Health Benefits of Potatoes
Fried Taro
- To fry taro chips, take a frying pan and pour cooking oil. Heat the oil but don’t let it smoke, use a temperature of 350 F.
- Gradually fry the taro slices, occasionally turning them over to cook them perfectly on both sides.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the taro chips and drain on paper towels to absorb the oil.
- Store in a closed container and serve with corn sauce or you can eat it alone as a snack.