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French Fried Beets

(adapted from East Side King's recipe)

Ingredients

  • 10 beets I used red and gold beets
  • 1/4 c. vegetable oil
  • 1/4 c. white vinegar
  • soybean oil for frying (I used vegetable)
  • 1 c. cornstarch
  • oil for frying
  • 1 c. Japanese mayonnaise such as Kewpie I found at Central Market*
  • Shichimi Togarashi* Japanese 7-spice blend
  • 1/2 c. sliced green onions

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°.
  2. Place te beets in the center of a large foil sheet. Drizzle with the oil and vinegar. Place a second large foil sheet on top of the beets, crimping the edges together to form an airtight pocket. Roast in the oven for 2 hours.
  3. When the beets are ready, peel them using a kitchen towel (or paper towel). If roasted correctly the skin should slide right off. Cut the beets into 1" cubes and allow them to chill.
  4. Heat the oil in large pan or deep-fryer to 375°.
  5. Toss the beets in the cornstarch until covered, adding more cornstarch as needed. Fry in 2-cup batches, until the outer cornstarch layer becomes crispy.
  6. Serve each batch with 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Garnish with shichimi togarashi and green onions.

Recipe Notes

NOTES:

If you don't have Japanese mayonnaise then take about a cup of mayonnaise and add 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha sauce and 1 teaspoon dijon mustard.

I found the Schichimi Togarashi at World Market and also Central Market; Whole Foods probably carries it also.

If you want to try and make the spice, here is what I did the first time - For the schichimi togarashi I looked up the ingredients and had almost all of them and simply put them in my motar and pestle and ground them. I had the ginger, sesame seeds, schezuan peppercorn, crushed red pepper and used just those spices (about 1/2 tsp. each). I used about 1/2 teaspoon of this mixture in the mayonnaise and then sprinkled some on top of the mayonnaise.