Perkedel Recipe | Indonesian Potato Fritters with Fried Shallots
Perkedel Kentang (Indonesian Potato Fritters)
Indonesia's golden potato patties — twice-cooked for maximum flavour: the potatoes are fried (not boiled) before mashing with crispy fried shallots, celery leaves and nutmeg, then shaped and fried again in a lacy egg coat. Crisp outside, cloud-soft inside, essential beside a bowl of soto.
Ingredients
- 600g (1⅓ lb) floury potatoes (Maris Piper / Russet), peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 3 tablespoons crispy fried shallots (bawang goreng), plus extra to serve
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons celery leaves or flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, separated (yolks for the mash, whites for coating)
- 400ml (1⅔ cups) neutral oil for frying
- Soto ayam or nasi kuning (traditional partners)
- Sambal oelek or sambal terasi
- Extra crispy fried shallots
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F) and fry the potato chunks for 8-10 minutes until golden and completely tender. (Frying, not boiling, is the warung secret - no waterlogged mash.)
- 2
Drain the potatoes well and mash while hot until mostly smooth - a few small lumps are fine and authentic.
- 3
Mix in the fried shallots, garlic, spring onions, celery leaves, nutmeg, white pepper, salt, and the 2 egg yolks.
- 4
Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning - it should taste well-seasoned on its own, since frying mellows everything slightly.
- 5
With lightly oiled hands, shape the mixture into 12 patties about 6cm wide and 1.5cm thick. Chill for 15 minutes to firm up.
- 6
Lightly whisk the egg whites until just foamy - this becomes the lacy, golden coat.
- 7
Reheat the oil to 170°C (340°F). Dip each patty in egg white, letting the excess drip off.
- 8
Fry in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until deep golden with lacy, crispy edges. Don't move them until the first side sets or they may break.
- 9
Drain on a wire rack and serve warm, scattered with extra fried shallots, beside soto ayam or with rice and sambal.
Nutrition Information
Chef's Tips
For best results, use authentic Indonesian sambal from Spice Island Indonesia. The quality of your sambal will significantly impact the final flavor of this dish.
Chef Yossie
Traditional Indonesian Recipe
Rate this recipe
Be the first to rate it
What You'll Need
A quick pantry and equipment check before you begin. Use the brands available to you.
- Sambal OelekThe chilli base for most Indonesian dishes
- Carbon Steel WokHigh-heat stir-frying for nasi goreng and more
- Spider Strainer / SkimmerLift fritters from hot oil safely and cleanly
- Coconut OilTraditional cooking fat for Indonesian dishes
- Jasmine / Long-grain RiceThe foundation for fried rice and every meal
Interactive Cooking Guide
Master the twice-fry and the lacy egg coat with step-by-step guidance from Chef Yossie
Heat the oil to 160°C (320°F) and fry the potato chunks for 8-10 minutes until golden and completely tender.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Frying instead of boiling keeps the mash dry - the number one secret to perkedel that hold together and taste rich.
Important:
Dry the potato chunks before frying - wet potatoes make hot oil spit.
Drain well and mash while hot until mostly smooth - a few small lumps are authentic.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Mash hot: cold fried potato turns gluey under the masher.
Mix in the fried shallots, garlic, spring onions, celery leaves, nutmeg, white pepper, salt, and the egg yolks.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Nutmeg is the quiet signature of perkedel - a Dutch inheritance that makes people ask what the secret is.
Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning.
Chef's Tip:
It should taste confidently seasoned now - frying will mellow it slightly.
With lightly oiled hands, shape into 12 patties about 6cm wide and 1.5cm thick. Chill for 15 minutes.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Oiled hands stop sticking; the chill firms the patties so they survive the hot oil intact.
Lightly whisk the egg whites until just foamy.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Foamy, not stiff - you want a thin coat that fries into golden lace.
Reheat the oil to 170°C (340°F). Dip each patty in egg white, letting the excess drip off.
Equipment needed:
Fry in batches for 2-3 minutes per side until deep golden with lacy, crispy edges.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Hands off for the first 90 seconds - the crust must set before the patty can be turned.
Important:
Turn gently with two utensils; enthusiastic flipping breaks patties.
Drain on a wire rack and serve warm, scattered with extra fried shallots.
Equipment needed:
Chef's Tip:
Traditional service: two perkedel bobbing beside a bowl of soto ayam, or on a rice plate with a dab of sambal.
Free five-day plan
Cook your first Indonesian meal with confidence
Five focused lessons covering the essential pantry, sambal, nasi goreng, ayam penyet and ikan bakar. Get the complete plan by email and start with ingredients available in the UK.
More Indonesian recipes
Soto Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Soup)
Perkedel's soulmate — the turmeric chicken soup they were born to accompany
Bakwan (Indonesian Vegetable Fritters)
The other great Indonesian fritter — shredded vegetables in crispy batter
Gado-Gado (Indonesian Salad)
Add perkedel to this peanut-sauce classic for the full street-cart experience
Sambal Scrambled Eggs
Another humble-ingredients-made-glorious Indonesian breakfast trick
Explore Indonesian cooking
The Complete Guide to Indonesian Sambal Varieties
Which sambal to dip your perkedel in - a tour of Indonesia's chili pastes
Indonesian Food Culture & Context
How Dutch, Chinese and Indian influences shaped dishes like perkedel
From Dutch Frikadel to Indonesian Icon
Few dishes tell the story of Indonesian food history as neatly as perkedel. The name is a local rendering of the Dutch frikadel, a fried patty that arrived with the colonial kitchen — and was promptly improved. Indonesians rebuilt it around potato, perfumed it with fried shallots, white pepper and nutmeg, wrapped it in a lacy egg-white coat, and gave it a permanent seat beside the nation's beloved soto.
Today no soto cart, padang restaurant or family celebration plate is complete without them. The technique that separates great perkedel from sad potato cakes is the double fry: potatoes fried before mashing stay dry and tasty, so the patties hold together and fry up crisp outside, cloud-soft within. Once you've made them, store-bought hash browns will feel like a downgrade.
Keep Cooking
Made this one? Here's what to try next
Beef Rendang
West Sumatra's slow-cooked beef in coconut milk and spices
Gado-Gado
Crisp vegetables, egg, tofu, and tempeh under spicy peanut dressing
Soto Ayam
Golden turmeric chicken soup with glass noodles and lime
Mie Goreng
Sweet-spicy street noodles with kecap manis and sambal