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Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — finished dish, ready to serve.

Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce (Hong Shao Tu Dou)

pan chinese cuisine

35 min total25 min cooking14 stepssavorysweet-and-savory

A popular everyday Chinese home-style dish. The potatoes are boiled, then pan-fried until lightly golden and finished in a glossy sauce made with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and a touch of sugar.

Maggie Tran's profile photoMaggie TranSecond-gen Vietnamese, first-gen meal prepper. I batch-cook pho broth monthly and I'm not sorry about the freezer situation. Ask me about fish sauce brands.

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Nutrition & allergens

Contains:SoyWheat

Some ingredients are not yet allergen-surveyed; this label is not exhaustive.

Per serving (4 servings)

Energy (kcal)
Unknown
Protein (g)
Unknown
Fat (g)
Unknown
Carbs (g)
Unknown
Sodium (mg)
Unknown

Estimated from verified ingredient data for the original formula — not lab values, and one dish is not a full meal.

  • Potato ingredient identification photo

    potato土豆

    2.0 piece

  • Garlic cloves ingredient

    Garlic cloves蒜子

    2.0 clove

  • Large scallion ingredient

    Large scallion大葱

    1.0 stalk

  • Dark soy sauce ingredient identification photo

    dark soy sauce老抽

    0.06 cup

  • Light soy sauce ingredient identification photo

    light soy sauce生抽

    0.13 cup

  • Granulated sugar ingredient identification photo

    sugar糖

    0.21 oz

  • Fine salt ingredient identification photo

    salt盐

    0.18 oz

  • Oyster sauce ingredient identification photo

    oyster sauce蚝油

    0.06 cup

Techniques you'll use

Steps

  1. 1

    Step 1

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 1 visual checkpoint.

    Make the sauce base: combine half a bowl of water (about 125 ml) with 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce.

    ✅ Done when: The water and soy sauce are combined in the bowl.

  2. 2

    Step 2

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 2 visual checkpoint.

    Add 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce.

    ✅ Done when: The dark soy sauce is stirred into the liquid, deepening its color.

  3. 3

    Step 3

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 3 visual checkpoint.

    Add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce.

    ✅ Done when: The oyster sauce is fully incorporated into the mixture.

  4. 4

    Step 4

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 4 visual checkpoint.

    Add a pinch of salt.

    ✅ Done when: The salt is added and dissolves into the sauce.

  5. 5

    Step 5

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 5 visual checkpoint.

    Add half a tablespoon of white sugar.

    ✅ Done when: The sugar is added to the sauce mixture.

  6. 6

    Step 6

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 6 visual checkpoint.

    Add 1 tablespoon of starch.

    ✅ Done when: The starch is fully mixed into the sauce with no visible clumps.

  7. 7

    Step 7

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 7 visual checkpoint.

    Stir the sauce until evenly combined; set aside.

    ✅ Done when: The sauce is smooth and uniform in color, with all seasonings dissolved.

  8. 8

    Step 8

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 8 visual checkpoint.

    Mince the garlic and slice the scallion into thin rings.

    ✅ Done when: The garlic is finely minced and the scallion is cut into small rings.

  9. 9

    Step 9

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 9 visual checkpoint.

    Cut the potatoes into chunks.

    ✅ Done when: All potatoes are cut into evenly sized chunks.

  10. 10

    Step 1010 min

    High heatBlanching (chao shui) ↗
    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 10 visual checkpoint.

    Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the potatoes, and boil for 10 minutes.

    ✅ Done when: After 10 minutes of boiling, the potatoes are tender enough to pierce.

  11. 11

    Step 11

    Medium heatAromatic blooming (bao xiang) ↗
    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 11 visual checkpoint.

    Heat oil in a pan and saute the minced garlic until fragrant.

    ✅ Done when: The garlic is aromatic and just turning golden.

  12. 12

    Step 12

    Medium heatPan-frying (jian) ↗
    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 12 visual checkpoint.

    Add the potatoes and pan-fry until lightly golden on both sides.

    ✅ Done when: The potato surfaces show a light golden-brown crust on both sides.

  13. 13

    Step 132 min

    High heatSimmering (dun) ↗Starch thickening (gou qian) ↗
    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 13 visual checkpoint.

    Pour in the sauce and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes, then raise the heat to reduce and thicken the sauce. Sprinkle with scallion rings and serve.

    ✅ Done when: The sauce has thickened into a glossy glaze coating the potatoes, finished with scallion on top.

  14. 14

    Step 14

    Braised Potatoes in Savory Sauce — step 14 visual checkpoint.

    Enjoy — a deeply savory dish that pairs perfectly with steamed rice.

    ✅ Done when: The dish is plated and ready to eat.