While preparing the crispy taro shreds for the Yee Sang (Raw Fish Salad) last week, I was reminded of this lesser known Chinese New Year snack. I have only had these a handful of times as a kid visiting friends’ homes during the festivities. If I remember correctly, it is called “Wu Har” in the Cantonese dialect. “wu” means taro and “har” means shrimp. They may have been named as such because they resemble shrimp fritters. Many vegetarian dishes are made with taro or yam and this could be a vegetarian substitute for shrimp.
Although these savory Crunchy Taro Fritters are seldom served, they have somehow left an indelible mark in my memory. I have made them once or twice in the past and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Like all crunchies, they tend to go really fast and Ro-Taro and Ro-Jiro certainly made short work of them. They are a nice contrast to all the sweet treats being served at this time.
And now for the giveaway, I am pleased that the good people at CSN has offered a $50 gift certificate to one of my readers to be spent at any one of their 200 plus stores. Spring break will be coming up soon and good luggage is necessary for your upcoming travels. Their luggage stores carry a wide variety of suitcases, carry-on bags, backpacks, and even briefcases. Do check them out and leave a comment here to let me know which bag might work for you. It would be nice if you can become a follower via Google Connect, Facebook, or Twitter if you are not already one. Many thanks! 🙂
This giveaway will be opened until 9:00pm Central, Thursday, February 17th. I will randomly pick a winner and make the announcement on Friday, February 18th. All the best!
******************* THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED *******************
Let’s get cooking! Taro and five spiced powder is a happy marriage. Adding sesame seeds makes the marriage even happier. 🙂 These crunchies are big on taste and can be pretty addictive.
- 1 small (2 lbs/900g) taro, shredded
- 1 tsp five spiced powder
- ⅓ cup (45g) sesame seeds
- ⅓ cup (40g) rice flour
- 3 tbsp water
- Oil for deep frying
- In a large bowl, add shredded taro, five spiced powder, and sesame seeds.
- In a small bowl combined rice flour and water. Pour onto taro mixture. Stir to get everything well mixed.
- Heat about one inch of oil in a wok or deep pan. Using a pair of chopsticks or thongs, take a small amount (about 1 tablespoonful) of taro mixture and drop gently into hot oil. Deep fry until golden brown and crispy.
- Remove and drain on paper towels. Store in air tight jars when cooled.
I want to thank Elisabeth of Food and Thrift Finds for this lovely award. Please pay her a visit as she has some delectable recipes waiting for you.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Oo…looks like it could be addicting!
Your dish looks delicious and I’d love a helping of it right now. Great giveaway too! I’d love to be going somewhere warm now with that blue Samsonite Spinner
Hello Biren! This looks very crispy and delicious. Please send some over 🙂
Biren! Taro fritters are an awesome idea. I’m cooking for my friends next week and I’ve been trying to think of one extra dish to make. this is perfect. I love that it doesn’t have a huge list of ingredients.
CSN really does own a million stores doesn’t it! I checked out luggage.com and what I really need is a carryon bag. I saw samsonite on there which is a great brand, but I also saw a super cute polka dotted one that I like. I hope I win!
PS I saw your comment asking if I was party filipina. I’m actually full Korean. When I mentioned my cousin I was referring to my cousin in law. Sorry for the confusion!
Have a great rest of the week Biren!
Congrats on your award! Such a cute award too. I love these, Biren! I’m a bif fan of crispy taro and would love to try these. Bet my kiddies would love them as much as your boy did also. I was expecting shrimp in these though because of the name. Nonetheless, these look so yummy. Thank you for sharing this recipe and thank you for another CSN giveaway opportunity.
I have never made these but you’ve made them look most appealing and your recipe is easy to follow. I’m seriously thinking about making this. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Deep fried crispy goodness!
What fun fritters!! Awesome giveaway too! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂 You know I already follow you everywhere, haha.
this dish looks fantastic. is tarot root the same thing as daikon? there are wonderful daikon rice cakes that i have had once, but haven’t been able to make at home. thanks for sharing this. i always love learning about the food of different cultures. cheers.
Looks so yummy 🙂 We’d love for you to submit this recipe to dishfolio.com!
These look yumm..Love taro fries ,but never tried them like this..Thanks for sharing 🙂
Biren, how could you not have posted these things earlier?!? They look incredible. I will definitely be giving these a try (if I can find taro in my little red-neck of the woods).
Congratulations on the wonderful award. Well deserved, indeed.
I love taro but have never had these before! They look delicious and I think this warrants a trip down to Chinatown to pick some taro up!
I like these sunny mays reversible bags: http://www.luggage.com/LM01-C31-SYB1010.html?cv=
I never heard of Wu Har but know Wu-Kok (the Dim Sum item) better ;p
Tasty crunchy snacks!
I’m loving the Manhattan Portage messenger bags! 🙂
wow, nice crunchy recipe!.. I’ve not heard of it before.. looks so inviting. Thank you for sharing such a nice exotic recipe! and also for the opportunity to win the card.. I like the traveler’s choice two-tone garment bag.. looks elegant 🙂
i would love to get the bags! thanks!
Biren, these fritters look delicious! Love it! Makes for a great snack 😀
Oh my goodness, they look so good. I have never had taro before but I love the sound of these fritters 🙂
I love these fritters, they look so good! I saw you on taste spotting, congrats on your beautiful picture and award;-)
The dark red Samsonite look great. Love the fritters.
Looks so good! Put a bowl of these on the table, and you will have, “now you see it, now you don’t”!!
The CSN website isn’t working for me, but that’s a great giveaway! And those fritters look so good. I usually don’t make fried food (it always goes off), but those are tempting.
We used to live in Hawaii and loved taro!
I love taro chips, so I know I would love these taro fritters!!!!
I follow via gfc as Dee and would love the Victorinox – Werks Traveler 4.0 20″ Extra Capacity Expandable Wheeled Carry On!! Thanks for the chance!:)
I have never eaten taro. I think this looks fantastic, but I can’t even imagine what it must taste like. So this is a must try for me!
I have never eaten taro, so this is a must try for me!
Your taro fritters look completely delicious and very addicting Biren! I like the five spice you used to season them too.
I dream about getting one of the Samsonite Silhouette 12 Hardside 26″ Spinner Suitcase. I love the rolling luggage where all four wheels spin freely! So maneuverable! Love it!
I have never tried crunchy taro fritters before, but my, oh, my they look good! Thank you for sharing…and for your kind words on my blog today. I hope you are having a happy and warm night!
Biren, I’m a sucker for fried food. Can never resist. I can finish the entire bowl of your Taro! hahaha!
Taro fritters??? I’d have never thought of that!
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What’s For Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
Yummy! I love taro and anything with sesame seeds! If only things like these weren’t so fattening 😛 You know, this is making me think of another snack I love whose name I’ve forgotten. It’s twisted pieces of dough fried till crisp and blistered all over which is then coated in a sticky syrup and covered in sesame seeds then left to dry before being eaten. I cannot stop eating those once I start, in fact, tomorrow I’m going to hunt them down 😀
Hmmm, these look good! Taro, sesame and 5-spice – what else do you need to say anymore? My kids would eat this in no time at all, and would not complain if I say it is a vegetable. Thanks for sharing.
Biren~ you are ALWAYS broadening my horizons! I have never cooked with taro and I’m very intrigued. I’ll pick some up this week!
Omg..my parents were from Hong Kong and I have never seen this sort of thing! Taro is my absolute favorite flavor. Thank you so much!
These fritters look absolutely wonderful, Biren…so crunchy and flavorful! I’m going to look for taro and I hope I can find it near me since I’d love to make these!
I would love this bag:
http://www.luggage.com/Hartmann-1331-Stratum-Duffel-HTM1076.html
I follow on GFC!
gina.m.maddox (at) gmail (dot) com
I’ve had fried taro but never thought of fritters! I like anything fry and the crispiness of it.
What a fantastic rainy day, cold weather treat. i adore taro and now thanks to you I can make these. yours look oh so crispy and delish, Biren 🙂
chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
That looks super crunchy dear! Feel like grabbing the bowl now 😉
About Dulce De Leche, it tastes like caramelized condensed milk. Very sweet though. Goes well with cakes, brownies, ice creams as well. Haagen Dazs have it 😉
These sound crispy and so yummy!
The Zero Halliburton Classic Edition 21″ looks dope!
I follow! While I don’t have much of a use for luggage for myself, my daughter would love the “Beatrix – SK-1146 – Little Kid Papar Backpack” with the Owl on the front. 🙂 SO cute!
I’d like to get a trunki for my little one.
lovelydomesticdiva (at) gmail (dot) com
Those fritters look totally yummy…now I’m starving!
I really like the Ducti – 10308YW – Police Line Do Not Cross Utility Messenger Bag in Yellow from CSN…..it would be perfect since I work for a police department, too!
I’m also a new GFC follower (shel)
thanks for the chance!
The Victoria leather messenger shoulder bag beckons to me!
I follow you on GFC. Like the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe cabin case in steel gray
Love the Rockland rolling duffle in Kensington
I’m a new GFC follower, and I love this bag:
http://www.luggage.com/Travelers-Choice-TC2400B20-UD1167.html
Such a pretty blue!
I’m new to your blog and your recipes look incredible! You can bet I’m a new follower! Thanks also for the chance to win the CSN gc.
fourkidsrgreat(at)gmail.com
Hey Biren, I didn’t know you had a giveaway going on too!!! Ooh, and I don’t do Facebook or Twitter, but I think I am a follower. I’ll make sure though…Oh, and if I did win it, I would totally get a coffee/spice grinder. Me needs/wants that;)
By the way, your tarot root fritters look so good. I’ve never seen this before. It looks like it would be really delicious though. Yeah!
This recipe looks like fun. I’ve been pinning some of your Chinese New Year recipes to my Winter Holidays 2 board, and this one joined them.
I like the look of the Samsonite Aspire Sport. Our oldest keeps insisting that we visit him in NYC, and a carry-on might push me in that direction. (Or another train trip to Chicago. Also appealing.)