It’s Sunday! You know what that means: it’s time for Sunday Brunch. Why don’t you skip the line and make brunch at home this week? The coffee’s truly bottomless, the booze doesn’t have a crazy markup and you can chill out in your pajamas. Every Sunday I’ll post a brunch recipe. Soon you won’t be asking, where should we go for brunch– instead it’ll be, what should we make for brunch today?
A couple of weeks ago I came up with the brilliant idea of having a brunchco*cktail party with a bunch of tiny brunch inspired bites. I couldn’tget the picture of a standing-room-only brunch party outof my mind, soI came up with these tiny taro crispy pancakes, a sort of cross between a latke and a Chinese taro cake (the kind you get at dim sum).
Taro, like so many other foods, used to be one of my mortal enemies. As a child, it was powdery tasting and just plain weird. I totally did not get my dad’s obsession with it. Usually my mom stewed it, which I foundabsolutely horrible. Now I’m super fond of taro, in most of it’s preparations (no thank you poi). I can thank those fancy bags of root vegetable chips for my change of heart. I went from being a taro hater to a taro loverwith just one crunchy chip.
Taro, with its naturally dry consistency, is idealfor frying: a little bit of hot oilandshredded taroturns into a lacy, crunchy pancake. Taro pancakes are delicious on their own, but like latkes, they’re even better with toppings.I finishedthese guysoff with some sour cream, smoked salmon, green onions, and sriracha for a bite full of contrasting textures and flavours. I think they’d be awesome alongside some sriracha bloody Caesars. Happy Sunday!
Crispy Taro Pancakes Recipe
serves 2
- 1 cup freshly shredded/grated taro
- 1 teaspoon flour
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil, for frying
- sour cream, to serve
- smoked salmon, to serve
- sliced green onions, to serve
- sriracha, to taste
Toss the shredded taro with the flour and season generously with salt and pepper.
In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil until hot and shimmery. Drop the taromixture by the tablespoonand flatten. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until edges are crisp and golden, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels. Continue pancaking until taromixture is done. Top pancakes with sour cream, smoked salmon, slice green onions, and sriracha, if desired. Enjoy immediately.
28 Comments
November 2, 2014 at 1:51 am
Just Googled taro and now I want it!…you are always teaching me! lol
Reply
Maria V says:
November 2, 2014 at 3:18 am
That looks positively scrumptious! Your take on latkes is super brilliant. Can’t wait to try this. Did you use fresh taro? Do you think frozen shredded taro would work in this recipe (as long as the excess moisture is squeezed out)?
Reply
steph says:
November 2, 2014 at 9:16 am
i’m not sure if frozen taro would work – i’m guessing it would have too much moisture, even after squeezing out the excess water. then again, hash browns work from frozen potatoes, so it may work, it just won’t be as crispy. hope that helps!
Reply
Judith - myfoodblog.nl says:
November 2, 2014 at 4:30 am
I discovered your blog when I was in Canada last week. Love it! Bought your book too :-)
Reply
Elyse says:
November 2, 2014 at 7:00 am
Never eaten or even seen taro!! Looks relish, may have to search it out now.
See AlsoEasy Instant Pot Soup Recipes to Spice Up Your MealsGrilled Garlic Cheese Naan Bread Recipe | ChefDeHome.comMashed Cauliflower RecipeThe Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe - with Coconut! - foodiecrush.comReply
Elyse says:
November 2, 2014 at 7:01 am
That should say looks delish- the joys of autocorrect!!
Reply
Alana says:
November 2, 2014 at 7:12 am
One day I will make sure you try some really good poi and it will forever change your mind about it!! For now, I’ll just settle for the fact that you just made these awesome little taro cakes!! They sound so great and and want to serve them up with some Portuguese sausage!!!
Reply
November 2, 2014 at 10:32 am
Oooh, I love taro. Being able to get purple (taro) bubble tea sealed my love for it when I was a teenager. Never thought of putting it in a latke, but I’m sure I’ll love this…
Reply
Karishma says:
November 2, 2014 at 11:52 am
Yum, this reminds me of latkes! I’ve never tried taro but it sounds really good.
Reply
Millie l Add A Little says:
November 2, 2014 at 12:57 pm
Looks tasty! I love the sound of smoked salmon on top!
Reply
Kathleen | hapanom says:
November 2, 2014 at 6:58 pm
This looks divine! I could eat smoked salmon everyday and these little bites look perfect! Love the taro pancake idea too!
Reply
November 3, 2014 at 10:33 am
These look amazing! Thank you SO much for posting brunch every Sunday. It’s my favorite ;)
Reply
Em | the pig & quill says:
November 3, 2014 at 2:12 pm
Aaaaaaah, something to quell my taro craving when my fave fuzzy football dim sum is out of reach!! Adorbs and super tasty, Steph!
Reply
November 3, 2014 at 5:15 pm
So. I’ve never had taro other than the taro chips. And with those, I tell everyone that I love taro, so I feel ya on how great those chips are! Would love to try taro in some other form, like with this recipe.
Reply
Gaby says:
November 3, 2014 at 7:56 pm
I love this!! Sunday brunch is probably one of my favorites!!
Reply
Nagi from RecipeTin Eats says:
November 4, 2014 at 9:15 pm
I want, I want!! Do you have taro puffs at dim sum in the US? I’m in Australia, and they are my absolutely FAVOURITE at yum cha! (i.e. dim sum!). So this is made with taro and it’s been fried. And you’ve topped it with a brunch classic of smoked salmon and sour cream. You’ve basically scored a home run in my books :)
Reply
ellie | fit for the soul says:
November 5, 2014 at 5:29 pm
This is fantastical!!! I love the way you topped the cakes with those contrasting flavors. It looks super gourmet, but i know your secret….this is easy as pie (fried cake)!
Reply
Charlotte says:
November 7, 2014 at 12:06 pm
my family and I really loved this! it’s super delicious! thanks for the great recipe :)
Reply
Mon says:
April 26, 2016 at 11:20 pm
No itchy throat? …isn’t taro supposed to be cooked/boiled or steamed 3+ hours to break down its fibers?
Reply
Stephanie Le says:
April 28, 2016 at 8:38 am
i haven’t had a problem with itchy throat – i used a small variety of taro!
Reply
Stephanie says:
July 10, 2018 at 9:50 am
hi stacey,
absolutely, it’s just there as a sauce/dip component. you could use anything you like!Reply
