Jicama Stix

Short n sweet.

Jicama, a legume, is grown for the large tuberous roots which can be eaten raw or cooked and are used as a source of starch. The jicama plant is a vine which grows to a length of 20 feet or more. The roots are light brown in color, and may weigh up to 50 pounds. Most of those on the market will weigh between three to five pounds._*_

OK, so I can find ’em around here at about 2-3 pounds. Go figure. Get the idea out of your head that they are anything like potatoes. They’re not. Jicama is good raw, cut into french-fry sized/shaped sticks or even as ~3″X1/8″ chips (with dips or just plain). But the Jicama Stix I make are fried.

Simple: peel a jicama root. Cut it into french fry sized and shaped sticks. Heat a cast iron skillet to medium hot (on my range, about 3/4 up the dial). About the temp you’d cook pancakes. Use a relatively high-temp oil. I use a mix of olive oil (relatively low-temp cooking) and peanut oil (very high-temp cooking). Seems to work, and the two oils have flavors that suit the jicama nicely. DO NOT use a lot of oil. If you use an amount you’d normally use for semi-deep frying french fries or hush puppies or the like, too much will be absorbed by the jicama, which is much more open pored than potatoes and the like. Use maybe 1/8-1/4 inch at most.

Fry the jicama, turning with a spatula or with tongs as each side browns. Drain well on paper towells.

The Jicama Stix will be sweet and of the consistency of limp french fries. Serve as a side dish with soups, sandwiches or whatever with ketchup, horseradish sauce, mustard or your fav creamy dip.

You can also spray raw jicama sticks with olive oil and back them at about 400 degrees F, turning them as they brown. Not quite as good, IMO, but still tasty and lower in fat.