As a Midwesterner, I feel like I’m an expert when it comes to potatoes and all the amazing things you can do with them in the kitchen. From whipping boiled taters into a creamy mash with plenty of butter to frying shoestring fries in hot grease, this yummy starch is an essential element of my weekly dinner recipe rotation.
So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon a potato recipe I’d never actually seen before. The end result of this viral TikTok recipe for “potato fireworks” is undeniably beautiful, but is the recipe itself genius or too over-the-top? We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth the hassle of preparing.
The short video provides a quick tutorial that begins with cutting one large potato into two cubes. The next step is to make a series of deep vertical cuts in each cube, then turn them 90 degrees to make another round of cuts, being sure to avoid completely slicing through the cubes. This slicing technique is key for perfecting the look of your “fireworks.”
Once you’ve sliced your cubes, dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a bowl of room-temperature water and allow your potatoes to soak for 30 minutes before rinsing. Coat the cubes with cornstarch, then deep fry them at roughly 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden (the comments recommend air frying as a comparable alternative).
Finally, you’ll make your sauce with a teaspoon of ketchup, two teaspoons of soy sauce, three teaspoons of sugar, four teaspoons of black vinegar, and five teaspoons of “water from the Mississippi River” (that’s just a channel in-joke; any type of water will do). Cook on the stovetop until bubbling, then pour the sauce mixture evenly over the cooked potatoes, topping off with some white sesame seeds. “Done and dusted!”
The TikTok creator ends his video by telling viewers that these potato fireworks are “out of this world,” and I have to agree. This cooking method, while involved, is a fun new way to make potatoes that I didn’t know I needed. Honestly, it might just leave plain ol’ french fries and ketchup in the dust.