These Crispy Taro Fritters are the perfect crowd-pleasing side dish! And what's more, they're healthy yet satisfying, and super easy to make!
Taro is a root vegetable often used in Asian cuisine. When cooked, it has a soft, starchy texture similar to potato but is a little more slippery - so kind of like a cross between okra and potato.
In Japan, it's known as satoimo, which is a variety of taro known as eddo, and it used to be a staple food before being replaced by rice. It's often used in Japanese cuisine, usualy simmered in dashi (fish stock) and soy sauce.
Here's a picture I happened to take in Japan when I saw someone had put them out in the sun to dry. They don't look particularly pretty, but they're really delicious and also super healthy!
These Crispy Taro Fritters are actually inspired by the dish I like to get at Chinese restaurants: soft taro coated with crispy breadcrumbs before being deep-fried.
My healthified version here is pan-fried rather than deep-fried, and uses cornflour instead of breadcrumbs, which keeps them much lighter.
Subbing regular breadcrumbs for cornflour keeps them gluten-free, and as a bonus it also makes them extra crispy!
This version here is also much easier as you don't have to heat up huge vats of oil for deep frying, and there's no need to coat them in flour, egg and breadcrumbs - just a quick dip in some cornflour will do. The lack of egg also means they're vegan-friendly!
I absolutely LOVE the contrast of the meltingly soft, perfectly tender taro inside and the crispy, golden brown outside.
These are delicious on their own but taste even better dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce.
They make a great side for dishes like:
You can buy taro in Asian supermarkets, or in the 'exotic vegetable' section of some local supermarkets.
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Crispy Taro Fritters (Vegan + GF)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil or steam the taro for 10-15 minutes until soft enough to easily pierce with a fork
- Drain away the cooking water and add soy sauce, mirin and salt + pepper
- Mash with a fork until smooth
- Sprinkle the cornflour onto a plate
- Take 2 tablespoons of the mash, form into a small patty and evenly coat with the cornflour
- Repeat for the rest of the mixture
- Heat up the oil in a frying pan and add the cornflour-coated patties once hot
- Fry on a medium heat for around 10 minutes, turning over halfway through, until both sides are crispy and golden brown
- Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and enjoy immediately
- These are delicious on their own but taste even better dipped in a mixture of soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce
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Bib
I tried this and it's so simple but so good! It also freezes well! I put them in the freezer after frying, and then air fried the fritters after several weeks. Still came out so crunchy. Thank you for this recipe. 🙂
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Xiang Li
These taste very good, but how small is 'small'? A tablespoon? A quarter cup is certainly too big, as the crust on mine slipped around because the oil didn't come up the sides nearly enough to make a seal.
The vague wording makes it difficult for beginning cooks and those that don't have an intuitive sense for such things, so if you can add clarification that will make this recipe much more user-friendly.
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much for your feedback and I'm sorry to hear that. I have amended the recipe now! Thank you again!
Laura M Gabel
hi, these were delicious. I was guessing at quantity of taro and they were crispy but very fragile and falling apart. what is the actual quantity of taro needed? All peeled and steamed, I had 4 cups of mashed taro. is that too much or too little? and what caused them to loose their shape? I want to make them again but need to troubleshoot! Thank you!
Rhian Williams
Hi - the quantity of taro you used won't have affected anything. The reason they lost their shape is probably because the mashed taro was too soft - did you add any liquid to it? To help the mashed taro firm up next time, you can mix in 1 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch) to the mashed taro! I hope that helps!