Season 1, Week 5

Kin Ramen & crunchy, pillowy potatoes

🗽 What I’m Ordering

On a cold winter night, it’s hard to beat a bowl of ramen. Nothing warms you up quite like a deep, rich broth with chashu and other goodies on top. I recently dined in at Kin Ramen with a couple work friends during New York’s pre-summer cool spell.

🔪 What I’m Cooking

This week’s recipe is crispy oven-roasted duck fat potatoes. It’s one of my favorite side dishes, and it’s taken me a long time to perfect. Heat up some duck fat (or high-smoke point oil) in a pan while you parboil peeled, large-diced potatoes. Then steam and flour the cooked potatoes before transferring to the fat. Turn every 15 minutes or so for an hour, hit ‘em with salt, and you’ve got some crispy-on-outside-pillowy-on-the-inside potatoes that are hard to stop eating.

✔️ Tip of the Week

Different varieties of potato bring different types of fun to the party, so shopping for the right potato can make or break your dish. Like I discussed last week regarding pasta, understanding starch is paramount, and this week’s dish calls for russet potatoes because their higher starch content is what helps us get that crispy exterior.

👇 More Details Below

• My order at Kin Ramen

• My full duck fat potatoes recipe

• A rundown of which potatoes to use and when

Kin Ramen

I prefer my ramen super spicy, and I prefer pork broths over chicken broths, so the signature Kara Kin Ramen was a no-brainer. Loved the chashu (marinated pork) and the homemade spicy paste and oil it came with. Just needed a jammy egg to really hit all the marks — shame on me for not adding one. We also shared some Chicken Bumps (basically fried chicken skin pieces) and Gyoza, both of which were excellent.

Crispy Oven-Roasted Duck Fat Potatoes

For ASMR-quality crunchy outsides and fluffy insides, this is my favorite recipe. Feel free to sub out the duck fat for oils with high smoke points, if you must, but duck fat is a luxury worth having.

• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths

• 4-8 tbsp. duck fat (enough to make a very shallow pool, maybe 1/2 inch deep)

• 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (optional)

• 1 tbsp. potato starch (or all-purpose flour)

• Salt, to taste

• Flaky salt (optional)

• Chopped parsley, for garnish

Serves 2

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large oven-safe pan or baking dish, add the duck fat and rosemary sprigs. Place in the oven while it preheats so the fat gets hot and infused with rosemary flavor.

2. Meanwhile, place peeled and cut potatoes into a medium pot with cold, salted water over medium-high heat and boil for about 5-10 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife but not falling apart. Drain and let potatoes steam dry uncovered on the stove for a couple minutes.

3. Toss the parboiled potatoes gently to rough up the surfaces a bit. Then toss them with the potato starch or flour to lightly coat.

4. Remove the pan with the hot duck fat from the oven. Using tongs, carefully add the potatoes to the pan in a single layer. You should hear a nice sizzle.

5. Roast for about 45–60 minutes total, turning the potatoes every 15–20 minutes to brown them evenly. They’re done when deeply golden and crispy on all sides.

6. After removing from the oven, immediately season generously with salt and a pinch of flaky salt. Garnish with parsley. Serve hot.

Notes:

• Be sure to fully heat the fat before adding your potatoes. Ever have a sad, soggy, oily french fry? That’s because the oil wasn’t hot enough and the potatoes were essentially poached.

Best Spuds

The humble potato exists in enough varieties that shopping for them can be confusing. Potatoes are typically classified as either starchy or waxy, which dictates their best uses.

Russets are the highest in starch, making them ideal for crispy exteriors and pillowy interiors. Think oven-roasted, classic baked potatoes, or french fries. They also make for the fluffiest mashed potatoes.

Yukon Golds are an in-betweener, with some starchiness and some waxiness. They’re generally a good all-purpose potato when you want richness without falling apart. Potatoes au gratin and creamy mashed potatoes are two great uses.

Reds, fingerlings, and new potatoes (any potatoes harvested young) are waxy and among the lowest in starch — the antithesis of the russet. They stay moist and firm, even after cooking, so they’re perfect for potato salads, boiling, soups, and stews where you want them to hold together and not turn to mush.