The craving for street food can come and go any time of the day, be it the mid morning hunger pangs at work, after a long day at school, or the late night munchies…. And the most satisfying street food is always the fried kind. Crispy on the outside, soft within… nothing beats a crispy isso wade, piping hot samosas or steaming midnight kottu…
And it’s that deep fried, oil abundant genre of street side deliciousness that manioc chips fall under. Manioca. Manioc. Cassava. Whatever you call it, the versatile yam has found its way into many a snack bowl and paper cone across the island. The best, in my opinion, is when you get it straight off the fire from a streetside vendor – where roughly hewn strips of golden yellow manioc are fried in a vat of spitting oil and sprinkled with a gritty mix of chilli and salt. Crispy on the outside, soft and chewey within…they’re like french fries, but not.
The thinner the strips of manioc the crunchier they are, the fatter, the more yammy flesh you get to chew through. Try the thicker cuts for moist, soft insides with a crispy texture on the outside, and slim cuts for pure crunch.
Quantity wise each vendor has their own way, the bag I had was 100/- and this was from a vendor off Messenger Street, Colombo 12.
