Mut Khoai Tay (Chewy Candied Potato Strands), Sweetened with Monk Fruit

Method

1. Choose firm yellow potatoes with no green patches or blemishes. Peel them, grate them into strands of whatever size you like, and rinse them in a basin through several changes of water to wash out the starch.
2. Mix the lime with water, take the clear liquid off the top and soak the strands for about 2 hours.
3. Lift the strands out and rinse them several times until the lime is gone. Toss them with 180g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a pinch of salt, then leave them for about 1 hour.
4. After an hour, pour the syrup that has collected into a pan, cook it down until thick, then add the potato strands, drop the heat to low and stir steadily.
5. As the syrup nears the end, stir constantly on the lowest heat until the pan runs dry and the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend crystallizes around the sides. Add the vanilla, stir it through and take the pan off the heat. Keep stirring for a few more minutes until the strands are completely dry.
6. Let the strands cool completely, then store them in a sealed jar.

Tips

• With no lime on hand, a small piece of alum does the job: bring the water to a boil and blanch the strands before they are macerated.
• Rinse the potato thoroughly to wash out all the starch, since leftover starch dulls the color.
• Keep the last stage on the lowest heat and stir without stopping, because a pause scorches the bottom of the pan.
• Wait until the strands are completely cool before jarring them, since warm strands weep.
• Shred the potato into even strands so the whole batch crystallizes at once, since mixed sizes leave some wet and some dry.