These Chinese Buttered Potatoes are without a doubt, one of the best potato recipes you will try. The seasoning is really simple, but the potatoes come out super tasty and crispy. My secret is using frozen potato wedges.
Personally, I never get the potatoes when I am at the Chinese buffet. They are a bit of a waste of money and there are usually better options. But some buffets carry a version called "Buttered Potatoes" and I can't resist them. They usually come in wedges and are crispy and coated in butter and salt.
What potatoes to use?
These days, whenever I want crispy potatoes, I just use frozen potato wedges. They have already been fried once in the factory, so when you fry them at home, you get the benefits of a double-fry. Double-frying food is the best way to ensure a long-lasting crispiness.
From what I have seen, the Chinese buffets use wedges or crinkle-cut potatoes. Here are the frozen wedges I am using:
I usually use unseasoned potatoes, but unfortunately, I could not find them today. They only had pre-seasoned ones. To counteract the seasoning, I removed the salt and reduced the garlic powder. If you have unseasoned potatoes, just follow the recipe card as it is written at the bottom of this page.
How to cook the potatoes
You can cook the potatoes in any way you like: deep-fry, bake, or air-fry. I decided to air-fry mine today. However, I recommend deep-frying if you want the taste to be as close as possible to the restaurant.
The seasoning
The final step is to make the seasoned butter. You want to use a large pan for this since we will be tossing it with the potatoes. I am using a wok.
Melt the butter and cook until it stops foaming. The reason we want the foaming to stop is because foaming means water is still being evaporated from the butter. We want all the water gone so that the butter does not soften the crispy potatoes. Water = enemy of crispiness.
After that, add the potatoes and toss until evenly coated in butter. Finally, add the seasonings and toss again.
Chinese Buttered Potatoes (Buffet Style)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds frozen potato wedges (or French fries)
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon MSG (optional; if its in the big crystals, make sure to crush it into a powder)
Instructions
- Prepare the potato wedges according to the package instructions (you can bake, deep-fry, or air-fry). Deep-frying will give you the crispiest results. I decided to air-fry mine at 400°F for 20 minutes. Make sure to toss them a few times so that they cook evenly.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until the butter is no longer foaming, about 3 minutes. Add the potato wedges and toss with the butter until evenly coated. Turn off the heat.
- Add the salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and MSG, and toss again. Enjoy!
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