In short, this dish is the redemption to the horrible gnocchi dish I made not so many posts ago. To me, almost everything seemed wrong: the gnocchi were not correctly shaped, they weren’t crisp or golden at all, the whole flavour seemed bland and boring and the picture I posted was too wrong. I am complaining a lot about that, aren’t I? But anyways, I WON’T be deleting that, just as a reminder that it was my first time making gnocchi. Still, I give myself points for trying. Anyways, leaving that blunder behind, I decided to start off with a fresh idea. 

First of all, I decided not to go the traditional route because that limits the type of flavours. I wanted the gnocchi to be Asian inspired to make it more interesting. To correct the blandness of last time, I decided to go with a chili oil, which would not only make a bit more spicy but would (hopefully) make the gnocchi crispier. As some additional toppings, I went with steamed carrots and fresh radish. Not many components but it already sounds better than last time.

I learnt quite a few things from the last time, which definitely made this way better. Instead of just cooling the potatoes, I decided to chill them in the freezer, to make them more suitable for grating. The last time I grated them whilst they were still warm. The result was a sludgy, gooey and starchy mess, which I believe why the gnocchi were a little gummy. Second, I decided to crisp them up in a non-stick with less gnocchi at a time. In my last attempt, I went ahead and dumped all the gnocchi at the same time because of which, none of them got crispy. This time I made sure each little gnocchi was in contact with the chili oil, and it definitely worked. And lastly (this hardly matters at all), I worked on getting a better picture. I am really fond of this new and improved version (so feel free to disregard/ ignore the last blundered attempt aka the plate of failure).

Gnocchi:

• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 large egg, beaten

Start by peeling the potatoes and plunging them into cold water. This’ll help get rid of the excess starch. Boil some water in a pot and add the potatoes. Let the potatoes cook when you can insert a knife into them easily. Remove from the water and place in a bowl, then cover with a dish towel for about 5 minutes. This steams them, making them fluffy.

Put the potatoes through a ricer to get them mashed. Alternatively chill the potatoes and grate them finely (it is important to have them slightly cold for easier grating). Make sure not to mash the potatoes into a glob. Keep them fluffy. Transfer the potatoes onto a cutting board/ into a bowl. Add the flour and beaten egg. Gently mix, making sure not to press hard in the initial stages (if you feel like your dough is started to dry, stop adding flour).  

Once the dough is formed, divide it into four portions using a bench scraper. Work with one portion at once and roll the dough into a log about ½ an inch thick. If the dough is sticking, sprinkle some flour. Using a bench scraper cut the log into bite size gnocchi, each about 2-2.5 cm long. To a pot of boiling water, add a few pinches salt and slid the gnocchi in. Once the gnocchi rise to the top, they’re done. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Chili oil:

• ¼ cup neutral flavoured oil
• 1 tsp chili flakes
• A pinch of ground ginger
• A pinch of pepper
• A pinch of salt
• ½ clove of garlic, minced

Fry off the chili flakes, ginger, pepper and garlic on a low heat in the oil. Once the chili flakes are crispy, remove from heat and add the salt.

Toppings:

• Steamed carrots (make sure to cut the carrot on a bias before steaming)
• Thinly sliced fresh radish

Bring everything together:

In a non-stick pan, heat some of the chili oil. Once the pan has been heated, add the gnocchi. Make sure to add only a few at a time so that each piece is in full contact with the pan. Once the gnocchi is golden brown, flip over and crisp on the other side. Repeat with all the gnocchi. Top the gnocchi with the steamed carrot and radish.