If you love potato and fancy spicy flavour, you must try this Chinese potato pancake! It’s pungent and crispy. A great side dish to add zing to your meal.
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Pin ItWhen I lived in Switzerland, I often had Swiss national dish potato rösti. It always reminded me of a tasty dish that I enjoyed when travelling in Yunnan province, China years ago.
These two dishes share many similarities in their main ingredients, cooking method and appearance. However, I prefer the Chinese potato pancake for its crispier texture and tangy flavour.
Cut or grate the potatoes
The Chinese name of this potato dish is Gan Bian Yang Yu Si (干煸洋芋丝). It literally means “dry fried potato strips”. Unlike Swiss rösti in which potatoes are grated, Chinese cooks always julienne the potatoes with a cleaver / knife (the same technic is used in the classic dish of Chinese potato stir-fry). For this Chinese potato pancake recipe, I suggest you cut the strips as narrow as possible since they become soft more easily. However, it’s totally fine if you prefer grating the potato with a regular grater.
Choose starchy potatoes
Chinese potato pancake has a rather crispy texture which I like very much. To achieve this, you need to make it much thinner than Swiss rösti. I usually use potatoes high in starch and low in moisture (not the waxy ones like red bliss or new potatoes).
Use your preferred spices
What makes Chinese potato pancake outstanding is the generous usage of spices. The authentic version calls for dried chilli and ground Sichuan pepper. I like using fresh chilli too when I have some to hand. Bird’s eye chilli (dried or fresh) is my favourite choice. Try it if you fancy something super hot. Otherwise, use chilli which has a milder taste.
When it comes Sichuan pepper, freshly ground powder provides the best zing to this dish (I have a post on How to grind Sichuan pepper properly). I have also made this dish with cumin powder. It’s a great pair with chilli too.
Spicy Chinese potato pancake (干煸洋芋丝)
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized potatoes, about 400g/14oz
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 stalk spring onion, finely chopped
- Fresh chilli or dried chilli, finely chopped, to taste
- Ground Sichuan pepper or cumin powder, to taste
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes. Thinly slice them, then cut the slices into fine julienne strips (see note 1 & 2).
- Heat up ½ tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Stir in 1/4 of the potato strips, along with 1/4 of the spring onion and fresh chilli. Sprinkle with ground Sichuan pepper (or cumin powder) and salt.
- When the potato strips become slightly soft, press them with a spatular to form a flat, round shape.
- Flip over (with the help of a plate if necessary) when the first side is golden brown.
- Transfer to a plate when the second side is done. Repeat the procedure to cook another three pancakes.
Notes
Your Recipe Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wei,
I really enjoy your recipes. We live 55 klms from the nearest shop and have many stored Chinese ingredients as my husband loves cooking Chinese food. I am beginning to cook it myself of late as your recipes are not difficult and I enjoy your explanations.
Thank you for the help and joy you give to all who receive your assistance to provide delicious food on our tables.
Noreen from North Queensland Australia.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Noreen! It’s wonderful that you and your husband share a love for Chinese cooking, especially with all those ingredients on hand. Happy cooking and enjoy the journey!
How long do these stay crispy for?
I wish to make them for a picnic but im not sure if they should be made the day of or if making them the day before is fine too!
They won’t stay crispy for long, especially if made ahead and taken on a picnic, but they’ll still be tasty. Happy cooking!
Hello again. I have been wanting to prepare this dish for a while. Today was the day, and I must say that I was really pleasantly surprised of the tastefulness of such a simple dish. Thanks so much.
My pleasure to share, Fergus!
Hi Wei! I just wanted to leave a comment of appreciation for all of your work with this blog, I’m totally in love with it. I’m in the process of moving back to Sweden after 10 years in China and I’m so happy that I’ll be able to cook all my favs like 生煎包，葱油饼，水煮鱼 and 麻婆豆腐 back home now. Until I found your blog I always searched Chinese recipes on baidu and 小红书 but they can’t compare to the ones you’re posting, really. Amazing quality of content, thank you so much! All the best, greetings
Thank you Ida for your positive feedback! So happy to know you find my recipes helpful!
Wei, This looks delicious!!
Thanks, Heddi! I miss Switzerland terribly so I decided to eat rösti more often. Haha! Have a wonderful day!