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- Hey, hey, welcome back to my channel.
Today I'll be showing you how
to make delicious low-carb, low-calorie French fries
that are just going to blow your mind.
They'll become your new favorite side dish.
You won't believe how healthy they are.
Say hello to your new best friend, jicama fries.
These spicy, crunchy fries are just what you need
if you're looking to get away from fried foods
and have a major craving for anything salty
like yours truly.
And they are surprisingly good for you.
I'll be showing you how to make them
in the oven or in the air fryer.
So you have options to get the crispy fries of your dreams.
I know, I know you're excited and you should be.
So let's dive into the nitty-gritty
of how to make these fries.
So first up,
you're going to want to grab your jicama.
Depending on where you live,
it can be tricky to find at the grocery store,
but you can usually find it in the produce section.
Sometimes with the other refrigerated root vegetables,
such as turnips and celery root.
And sometimes it's in the international produce aisle
along with daikon radish and beansprouts.
You'll basically be looking
for a light brown root vegetable
that's about the size of a sweet potato,
but round like a turnip.
You'll want to peel your jicama first.
This can be a little bit tricky at first
since the outside of it is very tough.
It's kind of similar to peeling a rutabaga.
It has this very tough outside texture
that is hard to peel into.
But once you make contact
with the inner part that you'll be eating,
it goes a lot more smoothly.
So carefully peel your jicama.
Patience is key here.
Then cut into half-inch-thick pieces
that resemble French fries.
Now, making jicama fries is quite different
from making potato fries,
because we have to perform an extra step
to make sure that they get nice and crispy.
And this applies whether you're you're baking them
in the oven or throwing them in the air fryer.
You're going to want to boil them in a bowl of water first
to precook them and get rid of any extra starch.
They will remain a bit crispy on the inside
even after you bake or air fry them,
just because of jicama's natural texture.
So boiling them beforehand will help to get them tender
before they go into the oven and crisp up.
Once you have your jicama peeled and cut into fries,
go ahead and add them to a large bowl of water
and microwave them for 10 minutes.
You can also boil them in a pot of water on the stove.
Once that's done,
drain and rinse them really well just to get rid
of any extra remaining starch.
From there, you'll want to dry them off
as best you can with a clean kitchen towel
or you can use paper towels to do this.
They should start drying on their own once drained
because they'll be hot, but you want the fries
to be as dry as possible to ensure the oil
and spices really stick to them.
So I lightly dry them off a bit more to a clean towel.
You also want them to be dry
to avoid the fries turning soggy while cooking.
Once you've got your fries dried off,
you'll add one tablespoon of olive oil
or any other neutral cooking oil.
Then you will add half a teaspoon each
of paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt.
You can feel free to switch up the spice combination here
but this is my basic mildly spicy spice blend
for those of you looking for a kick.
You can even just season with regular old salt and pepper
if you'd like, but what's the fun in that?
Now whether you are cooking in the air fryer or oven,
you'll be following all of the steps
I just showed you leading up to cooking them.
Let me walk you through each cooking technique.
If you're using the oven,
you'll be preheating to 425 degrees.
Line a baking with parchment paper,
then add your fries in a single layer,
making sure not to overcrowd the pan
or they will let off too much steam
and become soggy.
Depending on the size jicama you use,
you may need to do this in two batches,
which I know is super annoying,
but you've gotta trust me on this.
It's worth the extra effort.
Once you have the fries ready to go,
pop them into the oven for 15 minutes, then flip them
and cook them another 15 minutes.
I know 30 minutes is a long time
in comparison to oven fries,
but they do need that extra bit of time to crisp up.
Once your fries are done cooking,
serve them with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy.
Now you will save a little bit of time using the air fryer.
So I provided this option as well
for those of you who are as obsessed with this appliance
as I am.
The air fryer is a real game changer for things
like homemade fries, chicken nuggets, and chicken wings.
And I just don't think I'll ever go back
to using the oven for these types of foods.
It really does give you that fried food feeling,
without the guilt of deep frying something.
Not to mention the stink of the deep fryer.
It takes like five days to rid your house of frying oil.
And trust me when I say I'm not here for that.
So if you're taking the air fryer route,
be sure to preheat your air fryer 400 degrees
for 10 minutes.
You want it nice and hot for when you add your fries.
Once you've got the fries all ready
and tossed oil and spices,
you'll add them in a single layer, again,
not crowding your air fryer and cook for 15 minutes
for the one side.
You'll then flip and cook another 10 minutes.
With the air fryer,
you save five minutes versus using the oven so that's handy.
I know it's only a small win, but it is what it is.
Whichever method you pick,
I guarantee that you're gonna love
these awesome, low-carb fries
and you're gonna wanna make them over and over again.
Serve them with ketchup
or whatever your favorite dip happens to be.
And that's all there really is to it.
You can store the leftover fries
in the fridge for up to five days too.
When reheating, I recommend heating again in the oven
for five to 10 minutes until they crisp up again.
The inside texture will always be a bit more crispy
than you're used to with regular French fries,
but they really are an awesome healthy side
if you're looking to switch things up
and still satisfy your craving for something salty.
I've linked to this recipe below this video
and you can find more healthy side dishes linked too as well
in case you need some more healthy meal inspiration.
If you enjoyed this video,
be sure to subscribe to my channel
and I can't wait to see you in the next video.
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