If you loved my Salt And Pepper Chips or Taro Fries recipes, here’s another recipe to make for a crispy snack or side for a scrumptious meal. Instead of regular potatoes, you’ll enjoy light and crispy, thinly sliced taro chips. No need for deep-frying, just air-fry it for 15 minutes and toss it in spicy chili flakes or with a sweet or savory dipping sauce.
All About Taro Chips
Instead of your regular potato, why not use taro for a healthy and delicious potato chip snack? Taro is a root vegetable from the plant family of Araceae. You may also know this vegetable as toran in Korea, Kalo in Hawaii, and Pheuak in Thailand.
It is distinguishable for its brown-grayish exterior with ring patterns, similar to a tree bark. Its flesh is white with light purple dots. You can compare its taste to other starchy vegetables, which are sweet, nutty, and earthy.
In this recipe, I sliced the taro into ultra-thin sheets and rinsed it with water to remove excess starch. Just pop it in the air-fryer to cook for 15 minutes and pair it with your favorite seasonings and main dishes. Got some extra taro left? Use it to make taro sago dessert soup, taro balls, deep-fried sugared taro, and taro paste!
What Makes Taro Better Than Regular Potatoes
Did you know that taro has a higher fiber content than regular potatoes? Moreover, it contains less sugar than regular potatoes, making it a healthier root vegetable. On top of that, it contains higher levels of vitamins E, A, and B.
But if you are trying to lessen your calorie and carbohydrate intake, taro may not be the best option for you since it is higher in calories and carbohydrates compared to a regular potato. Still, it is a healthy vegetable with numerous health benefits. You’ll love taro for improving your digestion, controlling blood sugar levels, and managing high blood pressure.
Why Air Fry Taro Chips?
An air fryer is a revolutionary appliance for many reasons. If you still don’t have an air fryer in your kitchen, you are missing out on the convenience and simplicity it offers for your cooking experience. Here’s why an air fryer is better for cooking taro chips and other fried dishes:
- Requires little to no cleanup: In my opinion, this is the ultimate reason why an air fryer is better than a typical pan. Having an air fryer means minimal to no cleanup after cooking. Why? Well, it is because most of the time you place foil or parchment paper to line the basket so that it doesn’t have to be stained. After cooking, just throw out the lining and you still have a clean air fryer basket. Unlike with a frying pan or pot, you definitely have to clean it up afterward.
- Cuts the cooking time short: Instead of 30 minutes, your cooking time is cut in half! This means more time to rest and faster preparation for a quick and easy meal. This is all thanks to its convection heating method, while still giving you a crunchy and moist dish.
- Reduces your time in manual cooking: This means you don’t have to stay in the kitchen to keep watch of the pan, stir continuously, or watch for burning. You don’t have to do any of those steps since you just leave your air fryer to do the job. All you need to do is flip the chips halfway through cooking time to cook the other side evenly. Simply set the time and temperature and you are good to go.
- Lets you fry minus the oil: No oil in fried foods? This is a complete game-changer! Who doesn’t want that, right? With an air fryer, you can have fried dishes without having to fry them in oil at all. And even if you want to use a bit of oil, it is still very minimal compared to a deep-fried dish. An air fryer only requires spraying oil on the basket to give you a nice juicy and crunchy exterior.
- Makes any recipe a breeze to cook:In my opinion, having an air fryer is worth every penny. You can cook almost any dish, from deep-fried to stir-fried or pan-fried recipes. After cooking air-fried taro chips, you can also make the following dishes:
Where To Buy Taro
Taro is normally available in local Asian supermarkets or in the international section of grocery stores. You can buy fresh, frozen, or canned, whichever is available to you. When looking for taro, make sure it is not purple sweet potato or yam as these are often confused with taro because of its similarities in appearance.
Learn more about the differences between taro with other starchy vegetables by reading my guide, Taro Vs Sweet Potato Vs Yam Vs Yuca. If you really can’t find taro, swap it with other starchy vegetables like regular potato, purple sweet potato, or purple yam. However, it won’t have the tiny purple specks of the chips that only taro can produce.
How To Prepare Taro
One thing to note about preparing taro is that it can be quite toxic when touched with bare hands or when eaten raw. Taro contains high amounts of calcium oxalate which can only be neutralized when cooked thoroughly. Moreover, some types of taro emit a slimy substance when peeled and sliced, which can cause skin irritation when touched.
With that said, it is advisable to wear kitchen gloves when slicing taro and wash your hands afterward. Moreover, remember to cook this thoroughly before eating. You can boil, bake, fry, air-fry, or steam taro.
How To Serve Taro Chips
Taro chips are just like fries. You can enjoy it already on its own or pair it with a sauce or seasoning. It is the perfect combination with main dishes like sandwiches, pizzas, burgers, and other finger-licking meals.
Here are my top suggestions on the best meals to serve with taro chips:
- Crispy Pork Belly (Burger)
- Buttermilk Chicken Burger
- Pulled Pork Tacos
- Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings
- Ippudo-style Teba Gyoza (Stuffed Chicken Wings)
- Korean Fried Chicken
- Prawn Paste Chicken
- Popcorn Chicken
- Potato Cheese Puff Pastry Tart
- Honey Soy Baked Wings
- Pizzas and Barbecue
Enjoy it on its own with these sauce & seasoning suggestions:
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise
- Cheese sauce
- Mustard
- Salad cream
- Garlic sauce
- Chili flakes
- Dipping sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Tomato salsa
Prepare These Ingredients And Kitchenware
Nothing complicated, just your air-fryer for cooking and a knife for slicing. Optional items that are helpful are cooking oil spray, parchment paper, and kitchen paper towels. The ingredients to prepare are the following:
- 300g of taro (peeled and sliced)
- 2g cooking oil
- 2g of chili flakes (optional)
- Your favorite dipping sauce
Detailed Instructions To Make Air-Fried Taro Chips
Do this recipe in 30 minutes or less! Watch how I did it with my Instagram or TikTok reels. Don’t forget to leave a comment and share your chips online by tagging @kitchenmisadventures!
- Peel the taro and cut it into thin slices. It helps to use a mandoline slicer to make ultra-thin chips.
- Rinse the taro slices two times in water to remove excess starch.
- Drain the water and pat dry the taro slices with kitchen paper towels to remove excess water.
- Place the taro slices in the air fryer.
- Spray the basket lightly with cooking oil.
- Set the air fryer to 170°C or 338°F and set it to cook for 15 minutes.
- Flip the taro slices halfway through the cooking time to cook the other side evenly.
- Afterward, sprinkle some chili flakes for extra flavor.
- Serve this with your favorite dipping sauce or with a juicy main meal.
Air-Fried Taro Chips Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g of taro peeled and sliced
- 2 g cooking oil
- 2 g of chili flakes optional
- Your favorite dipping sauce
Instructions
- Peel the taro and cut it into thin slices. It helps to use a mandoline slicer to make ultra-thin chips.
- Rinse the taro slices two times in water to remove excess starch.
- Drain the water and pat dry the taro slices with kitchen paper towels to remove excess water.
- Place the taro slices in the air fryer.
- Spray the basket lightly with cooking oil.
- Set the air fryer to 170°C or 338°F and set it to cook for 15 minutes.
- Flip the taro slices halfway through the cooking time to cook the other side evenly.
- Afterward, sprinkle some chili flakes for extra flavor.
- Serve this with your favorite dipping sauce or with a juicy main meal.
