A classic Indonesian side dish. Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, perkedel is best eaten when still piping hot.
I think many can agree with me that potatoes are one of the best food ingredients ever. Unfortunately very few people outside of Southeast Asia know about perkedel and how it’s one of the BEST forms of potato.
The name perkedel is derived from the Danish frikadeller, which are fried meatballs. Perkedel kentang (kentang = potatoes) are probably the most common, but there are also perkedel jagung (or bakwan jagung, which are corn fritters), perkedel ikan (fried fish patties), etc.
I will concede that it is one of the more labor intensive methods of potato consumption. Traditionally you fry the potatoes, mash them, and then deep fry them again. If you boil them in water first they’ll retain too much moisture and fall apart (I’ve done it, can confirm). The great thing is that you can pressure cook them instead!! I stick them in my instant pot for 7 minutes and they’re perfect.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker you can steam them, but it’ll take a lot longer (also can confirm). I also shallow fry them and only add more oil as needed between batches because I ain’t about to deep fry stuff in my tiny studio apartment.
Also in these photos I didn’t add meat to them but I recently mixed in some sausage and it was heaven so the recipe below has meat (you can leave it out though).
P.S. the celery leaves are amazing and really do add a lot to the flavor. I highly recommend finding Chinese celery with the leaves still on. Lotta good dishes out there that use Chinese celery!
Enjoy!
Perkedel Kentang
Ingredients
- 600~700 g potatoes* (around 4~5 medium potatoes), washed
- 300 g your favorite sausage (~3 sausages but honestly use whatever amount you want) decased and broken up, optional
- 1 large shallot roughly chopped
- 1 bunch celery leaves finely chopped
- 1 tsp white pepper or to taste
- 1 tsp salt more to taste
- 1/2 tbsp granulated chicken buillon optional
- 2 eggs 1 yolk separated
- oil as needed for frying
Instructions
Pre-Patty Potato Prep
- If you have a pressure cooker: Halve your potatoes and place them on top of a steamer rack and add a cup of water into your pressure cooker. Cook on high pressure for 7 minutes, manual release. I don't peel them beforehand and I just remove the peels easily with a pair of chopsticks, you can do this or peel before.
- If you're frying: Peel and dice your potatoes and fry them until fully cooked through. You will need a bit more strength to mash them as they will form a skin.
- If you're steaming: Quarter your potatoes and place them onto a steamer rack in a large pot. Boil water in the pot and cover the lid, make sure the water doesn't run out and steam for 20 minutes on high heat.
- While your potatoes are cooking, cook your sausage (or any meat) in a pan with some oil if you choose to use it. If it is unseasoned you can add a bit of salt and some white pepper. Let it brown on medium high and add the shallots towards the end, careful not to burn. If you don't use the meat I highly recommend still browning some shallots to add into the potato mix but it's your choice. Make sure to break it up with a spatula, don't overcook it because we'll be frying again later.
- Mash your potatoes in a large bowl, then add the celery leaves, white pepper, salt, chicken buillon, egg yolk, and sausage/shallot mixture. Mix until everything is evenly distributed. Before adding the egg yolk (or after if you don't care), taste the mixture to see if seasoning needs to be adjusted.
Post-Prep Patty Production
- Heat up some oil on medium heat, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Beat the egg white that you reserved from the yolk, along with the other egg. Wet your hands and scoop some of the potato mixture into your hands, shape it into a flat patty. Coat the patty gently in the egg mixture and let the excess drip off.
- When the pan is hot enough (do NOT use high heat), fry your patties in batches. About 2~3 minutes on each side until they're golden brown. The size of the patties is up to you. Add more oil in between batches if necessary.
- Enjoy!
