Spiral spud on a stick
Chip lovers may be in for a whole new affair with this crispy, double-fried tater
It’s a fact: you can’t eat just one.
There’s an immutable attraction between fingers and potato chips, making resistance, as the saying goes, futile.
“It’s an addiction,” says Cindy Jun, a potato lover. “You keep picking at it.”
Jun, along with her husband, Johnny Jun, are harnessing the powerful force between potatoes and people with their tornado potato — a whole, deep-fried and seasoned spiral-cut spud on a stick.
It’s a treat that turns an awkward vegetable into slender, edible art.
Customers find it “jaw dropping,” Johnny says of the first reactions he’s witnessed over the years. “It’s like wow.”
Situated on Gristmill Lane in the Distillery Historic District until Dec. 22, the tornado potato stand is part of the annual Toronto Christmas Market. It’s a bit of a walk from the 15-metre Christmas tree, but in good company at this outdoor festival, where there are other yummy offerings including Oktoberfest sausage, smoked turkey drumsticks, Wiener schnitzel, pretzels and stollen, a yeasty bread crammed with dried fruit.
Children seem particularly drawn to the Jun’s small, festive hut decorated, in part, with potatoes. Since it opened last week, Johnny says, this treat has drawn lineups of drooling kids from a nearby school at about noontime.
With three kids of their own, the Jun’s surely knew it would be a hit.
They were introduced to the tornado potato in 2006 by Johnny’s uncle, who saw it in South Korea, Johnny says. In short order, Johnny, who grew up in Toronto but moved to British Columbia in 2005, gave up his career as a middle-school teacher to become a foodie entrepreneur.
“It’s unique,” he says of the treat, and “way better than potato chips.”
Currently, the Juns live in British Columbia and have two stands called Tornado Potato BC — one in Surrey and another in Richmond — which operate mainly in the summer, at special events and night markets.
In their small workspace in the Distillery, Johnny pops each potato — they also do zucchini — into a machine the size of shoe box. He turns a crank on the outside and the vegetable quickly becomes an edible slinky. Jun spears each one onto a stick and dredges it through a corn starch mixture right before dropping it into a vat of canola oil. Using tongs, he fishes them out after a brief sizzle and drops them into a second canola oil bath, this one at a slightly lower temperature.
Tempura is made by the same double-fry technique. “That’s the secret” to the crispiness, Johnny says.
Hot and glistening, this tornado potato ($8.50) is then dipped into one of several Kernels Popcorn seasonings (yes, that popcorn company), including salt and vinegar, sour cream and onion, parmesan and garlic, white cheddar, jalapeno, even cinnamon and sugar. Get two different seasonings on one potato, if you please. Add a drizzle of spicy mayo for even greater effect.
Grab hold of the tornado, at its napkin-wrapped base, and feel the force take hold of your fingers — and lips. Fresh, crisp chips on a stick. What could be better than that?
The zucchini ($7) dipped in parmesan and garlic is crispy, fleshy, salty and fabulous. Got an idea for Sourced?