Fried potato chips

Last updated 2026-11-13 — The dishes and foods made by the Weixi people are famously delicious in Diqing. Fried potato chips are also one of their specialties. Fresh potatoes are washed, peeled, and soaked in clean water. Using a slicing tool, the potatoes are cut into slices and placed into another basin of clean water. A large pot of water is brought to a boil, the raw potato slices are added, and they are cooked until just half-done before being removed. At this point, controlling the heat is the most challenging part for the cook—if the potatoes are undercooked, the dried chips will turn black; if overcooked, they’ll easily break apart. The slices are scooped out with a strainer and placed in a bamboo basket, then rinsed with cold water to remove excess starch. The slices are laid out one by one on a wire rack and sun-dried. On a sunny day, they can dry in as little as four hours. Once the moisture evaporates, the potato slices become very thin and shrink to less than half their original size. Oil from walnuts is heated in a pan until it reaches about 70% of its smoking point. A small amount of potato slices is added and slowly stirred with chopsticks. As the slices heat up in the oil, they rapidly expand. They are fried until lightly golden and then removed from the pan.