Lao Nai Yang Yu (Yunnan Grandma's Mashed Potatoes)
Can be eaten without teeth! Fermented pickles and stir-fried spicy mashed potatoes
Description
Representing Yunnan province in Southwest China, this potato (Yang Yu) dish is so fluffy that, true to its name, 'even a toothless grandma (Lao Nai) can eat it'. Boiled, mashed potatoes are stir-fried into a thick paste using pork fat, Yunnan's special sour pickled greens (Suan Cai), chilies, and scallions. A miraculous potato dish that makes you eat endless white rice.
Restaurants serving Lao Nai Yang Yu (Yunnan Grandma's Mashed Potatoes)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Potato
- Suan Cai(Sour pickled mustard greens)
- Red chilies
- Garlic
- Scallion
- Lard(or Veg oil)
- Salt
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- (Mashed Potato Prep) Peel potatoes and boil (or steam) until completely soft.
- Place in a bowl and use a fork/rolling pin to mash them 'coarsely', leaving some small chunks for texture.
- (Aromatic Base) Finely chop the soul of Yunnan cuisine: 'Suan Yan Cai' (sour, lactic-fermented pickled mustard greens). Mince scallion, garlic, and red chilies (fresh or dried).
- Heat generous oil in a wok (using pork lard creates unparalleled depth).
- Fry chilies and garlic to bloom aroma. Add the chopped 'Suan Cai' (pickles) and fry briefly to extract the sour umami into the oil (add a touch of Sichuan pepper powder if desired).
- Dump the mashed potatoes into the wok.
- Press the potatoes against the wok sides, frying on medium to literally 'knead' the pork fat and pickle sourness entirely into the mash.
- Season with salt and a splash of soy. Finally, fold in minced scallions (or fennel fronds). Once it forms a golden, unified paste, it's done.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Lactic fermented tartness of Suan Cai and depth of pork lard、ラードのコク
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Can be perfectly made using JP pickled Takana, potatoes, and lard)
Pairing
White Rice (Absolutely mandatory) / Qi Guo Ji(Steam Pot Chicken)
Trivia
[Trivia] 'Lao Nai' is Yunnan dialect for 'Grandma'. While Western mashed potatoes achieve richness via butter and milk, Yunnan's version uses 'pork fat and fermented pickles' to create the ultimate side dish for white rice—a magnificent invention of an agrarian people.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Scoop a massive portion with a spoon, dump it directly onto piping hot white rice, and mix them completely while devouring. Within the gentle sweetness of the potato exists a perfect balance of the pickle's 'intense tartness', the chili's 'spice', and the lard's 'heavy depth'. It disappears down your throat requiring zero chewing.
Allergen
None