Krepek ubi pedas manis is Indonesian for spicy and sweet crisps made usually from cassava or sweet potato. I’ve previously made and posted the recipe for the sweet potato version but I’ve recently tested it using potato and cassava as well. I also tried a few different variations including using less sauce and therefore a much thinner coating on the crisps, reducing the sauce to a thicker consistency, replacing the tamarind with lime juice (simply because I didn’t have any tamarind in my pantry at the time), and on one occasion, adding belacan (shrimp paste).
These are all options you can try in your own kitchen, but beyond that, I haven’t found the need to tweak my original recipe too much (I did replace the chilli paste with chilli flakes so you don’t have to boil and blend dried chillies).
On a couple of occasions I did reduce the sauce a bit too much, which made it hard for it to coat the crisps properly – it’s about striking a balance between that and having it too watery which will make them soggy.
I found the potato one worked really well because it was lighter in texture, so that’s a good way to use up leftover potatoes before they turn green.
Krepek Ubi Pedas Manis (Sweet Potato/Potato/Cassava Crackers With Sweet And Spicy Sauce)
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 kg potato, sweet potato or cassava, thinly sliced using a mandolin
- Oil for deep-frying
For the sauce –
- ¼ brown onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup water
- ½ TBSP chilli flakes
- 1 TBSP tamarind extract or 2 tsps lemon juice
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 Tbsps oil
METHOD:
- Thinly slice the tubers using a vegetable slicer.
- Heat oil to about 180°C, then deep-fry potato/sweet potato/cassava slices in small batches. Remove when the bubbles dissipate and drain in a colander or sieve.
- Blend onion and garlic.
- Dry-fry in a non-stick wok until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add oil and fry until aromatic and onion is browned. Add all other ingredients.
- Simmer until sauce is thickened and fairly dry; adjust seasoning as required.
- Toss in potato/sweet potato/cassava crackers and mix well. The final product should only be lightly coated with the sauce, otherwise it might go soggy.
- Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container. If it goes soft over time, bake it in an oven or airfryer for 5 minutes at 90C, then allow to cool before eating/storing.
