garlic thyme fries with kimchi mayo

Garlic thyme fries with kimchi mayo: happiness on a plate.

I love making fries at home in my cast iron skillet. And this my favorite way to prepare and eat them. Garlic and fresh thyme add a layer of goodness to this classic comfort food. When I was a kid, fries meant celebrating, or better yet, eating out in a restaurant—which was a rare occasion growing up. I SO looked forward to those times when I could order fries with a cheeseburger and wash it all down with a Pepsi (I prefer Pepsi over the other guy). Now, as an adult, I get to enjoy my fries with a Korean-influenced kimchi mayo dipping sauce!

To get the fries guys extra crispy I coat them with corn starch before frying—this makes a BIG difference. To get that restaurant-style color and crisp—this is what makes it happen. And the final touch—a spicy, kimchi mayo dipping sauce makes this hard to beat. Absolutely delicious and comforting.

Ingredients:

I used a 10.25” diameter cast iron skillet for this recipe.

For two servings

The fries

• 2 medium russet potatoes (washed, cut 1/2 inch across and 1/4 inch wide)

• 1½ teaspoons of corn starch

• 1/4 teaspoon of seasoned salt (I used lawry’s)

• 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme, chopped

• 1 cup of oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)

The kimchi mayo

• 2½ tablespoons of Kewpie mayo (this is Japanese-style mayo and can be found at H-mart or most Asian grocery stores)

• 1/2 teaspoon of gochujang

• 1 teaspoon of kimchi juice

Russet potatoes, 2 medium-sized ones sliced up will fit into a 10.25” cast iron skillet. These are the potatoes before they were washed and got a good scrub down.

Pictured , clockwise: corn starch, thyme, garlic powder, seasoned salt and onion powder

Pictured: Ingredients for kimchi mayo sauce: kimchi juice, gochujang and kewpie mayo

Directions:

• Wash and scrub the potatoes, I like leaving the skin on. Make sure to remove/scrub off any eyes on the potatoes.

• Slice the potatoes into fries (obviously), they should be 1/2” across and 1/4” thick. This is the probably the most difficult part—slicing your potatoes evenly. To start off and make the process easier—cut off a half inch slice lengthwise from your potato. Then use the sliced side as the base/bottom for when you start cutting your potato into fries.

• In a bowl, toss the sliced potatoes and corn starch together, ensuring an even coating. I use gloves for this step.

Don’t skip the corn starch coating! This is what’ll give your fries that nice, golden color and crispy texture.

• Next, heat 1 cup of oil on high heat in your cast iron skillet.

• You can test to see if the oil is ready with a wooden chopstick. Dip the chopstick in the oil—if you see a ring of bubbles form quickly, you’re good to go!

• Fry for 5-7 minutes, until they’re golden tan/brown color.

• Remove the fries from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to remove any excess oil.

• After removing the excess oil, in a bowl, combine the fries, garlic powder, seasoned salt and thyme. Toss to ensure an even coating on all the fries (I used a silicone spatula to mix the ingredients).

Almost there!

• Mix the kimchi mayo sauce ingredients together in a bowl.

• Eat together with fries and feel happy. Put your fries on a pretty plate, bask in the glory of combining carbs and dipping sauce :)

Dipping action. Life is good!