Spicy Tapioca Chips (Kerepek Ubi Kayu Pedas)

I, Phong Hong, hereby pledge to kick start my diet and low carb eating regime after the Chinese New Year. So help me God. And as if I needed another addictive snack to tank my resolve, here I am making Spicy Tapioca Chips (Kerepek Ubi Kayu Pedas). I love this spicy snack but all this while it never occurred to me to make the chips myself. Thanks a bunch Esther! It was Esther's comment on my Ngaku Chips post that got me all itchy. Tsk! Tsk!

It has been a while since I ate these spicy chips. The last time I bought the chips from 99 Speedmart, I did not enjoy that particular brand. It had a stale taste although the  expiry date was quite far ahead. I reckon it is the stale oil that spoilt the whole thing. Besides, the chips were quiet oily, wet and soggy. Yuks!

My search for the recipe brought me to Subhie's Passions' Kerepek Ubi Kayu Pedas-Spicy Cassava Crisps. The recipes I found in other blogs were quiet similar but most did not give measurements. After trying the recipe, I figured that you could basically "agak-agak" (estimate) the ingredients for the chilli sauce.

The ingredients for the chilli sauce are quite basic. Fresh and dried chillies, garlic, ginger, sugar and salt. But after tasting the end product, I prefer it without ginger. Most of the recipes from the Malay blogs that I found did not contain ginger but this is a matter of personal taste.

Fresh and dried chilles, garlic and ginger.

Blend till medium fine.

The blended ingredients are then sauteed in oil until fragrant and some water is added. Simmer until the raw smell of chillis disappear and mixture is a slightly thick. Add salt and sugar to taste and set aside to cool.

And of course you will need cassava/tapioca. I call it tapioca and for this recipe I used a medium sized one, measuring about 7 inches long. It was actually slightly more than 12 inches in length when I bought it but 5 inches of it went soft. Just peel the tapioca, not that difficult as it has a skin that you can quiet easily peel off. If I remember correctly, my grandma once made a kerabu using the tapioca skin. I must check with my Mum or my Auntie.

Just make a slit along the tapioca and peel.

Give it a rinse and pat dry. Slice the tapioca thinly using either a mandolin or knife. Then simply deep fry until it turns golden brown and crispy. Once the chips are cool, toss them in the chilli sauce and you are good to go!

Because my tapioca chips were much less than what it should have been, the chilli sauce was a bit on the generous side. No complaints as I enjoyed every bit of it :)

Spicy Tapioca Chips (Kerepek Ubi Pedas)
Recipe source : Adapted from Subhie's Passions

Ingredients :
- 1 medium sized tapioca (about 12 inches in length)
- oil for deep frying

For chilli sauce
- 6 dried chillies, soaked to soften
- 2 fresh chillies
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch ginger (I would leave this out in my next attempt)
- 2 tablespoons honey (or sugar to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- About 1/4 cup water

Method :

To prepare chilli sauce :
1. Blend chillies, garlic and ginger till medium fine.
2. Saute blended ingredients till aromatic.
3. Add water and simmer until chilli sauce becomes thick.
4. Add salt and honey/sugar and mix. Simmer for about 1 minute.
5. Set aside to cool.

For tapioca chips :
1. Peel and rinse tapioca.
2. Slice thinly using mandolin or knife.
3. Deep fry until golden brown and crisp.
4. Drain on paper towels.

Once the tapioca chips are cool, toss them in the chilli sauce until well coated. Serve or can be stored in an airtight container.

No more chips after Chinese New Year. Sigh....