Crystallised Taro

Ingredients

• 200 g Liupu taro
• 30 g white granulated sugar or rock sugar
• 15 g water
• spring onion

Method

Cut the taro into batons roughly 8 cm long and 1 cm thick — thin enough to fry through in one pass but thick enough to hold their shape when you stir-frying|stir-fry them with the glaze. Too thin and they'll shatter; too thick and the centre stays soft whilst the outside chars.

Heat oil to 160–180 °C — test by lowering a wooden chopstick into the pan; it should produce a steady, vigorous stream of small bubbles around the wood. deep-frying|Deep-fry the taro until it floats and the exterior takes on a pale gold colour with no dark patches. This takes roughly 6–8 minutes depending on thickness. The taro should yield instantly to a chopstick; if it has any resistance, it's not cooked through. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. The oil is clean and reusable.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 30 g sugar and 15 g water over medium heat. This 2:1 ratio is critical — it limits water content so caramelisation happens fast and the sugar can crystallise properly rather than stay syrupy. Watch the pan without stirring. After 2–3 minutes the mixture will foam and turn translucent, then pale gold. Stop when you see a thin golden-brown ring forming around the edge and the bulk still reads amber-blonde. This is the sweet spot between caramel and full brown — go darker and the crystalline structure shatters, leaving you with brittle splinters instead of a grainy glaze.

Off the heat, immediately tip the fried taro and finely sliced spring onion into the pan. Toss constantly for 30–45 seconds — the friction and cooling process force the caramel to candy-making|crystallise onto the surface as a grainy, glossy coat. Stop tossing when the pieces no longer slip past each other; overworking breaks the glaze into a clumpy mess.

Transfer to a serving plate at once. The taro will be extremely hot — the sugar conducts heat fiercely. Eat within minutes while the crystalline shell is still crisp; as it cools fully it will set rock-hard, becoming chewy rather than snappy.