Crisp & Crunchy Fried Oatmeal Cake

This idea came this morning when I made too many oatmeal porridge for breakfast. I plan to eat that later but thanks to "Law & Order 15" series, I forgot about it for almost 30 minutes. When I look back to my bowl, my porridge already became too thick and sticky, yuck! Unable to eat that yucky mixture, I began to remember dumpling dough I watched from a cooking program days before. With a lot of guts, sprinkle of spices, some herbs, good vegetable oil, I deep fried them and... voila ! I made Crisp and Crunchy Fried Oatmeal Cake.

Yeah, I know they're not the prettiest Oatmeal cake.  The oil was used to fry shallots, I don't want to throw it because it give nice smell and flavor, and I forgot to strain it. Darn. Gotta strain it for the next batch

These cakes may not as healthy as usual oatmeal, but I think they're much better than frozen nuggets from store, and better than usual dumpling made from flour. I mean, it's oat~ full of fiber, good for colons~ okay, I just make excuses for this unbelievable yummy crunchy snack. Perfect for salad, mashed potato, rice (oh yeah I love rice), pasta, Super Bowl snack, everyone will make excuses for more plates.

Ohh, tell you what, the "crunch" sound made from this dish is... out of this world!

Ingredients : 
100 grams oatmeal
100 ml hot water
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger (use fresh ginger, please)
2 tbsp finely chopped celery (optional - other fresh herbs will do good)
1 tbsp granulated sugar (optional - skip if your leftover oatmeal already sweet enough)
1 tbsp fried shallot (optional - garlic powder is fine, too)
1 tsp white pepper powder (if you like it, add more)
1 1/2 tsp salt
enough vegetable oil to deep fried for the oatmeal cake to sink

Tools : 
Bowl
Good Knife
Spoon
Wok and frying spatula (or deep fat frier)

Let's start!

Okay, The Oatmeal. IF you have raw oatmeal, ground it a little bit. Not to smooth, otherwise you won't get the crunchiness. If you have instant oatmeal, which usually already grounded, that's good. Pour hot water over the oatmeal, in a bowl. Any bowl. Mix, mix, mix. Add ginger, celery, sugar, white pepper, powder, and salt. Mix them together.

Here comes the important parts.
Celery is the only herbs I found in my fridge. If you have rosemary, thyme, parsley, anything, try them or mix them all. It will give nice smell. And don't forget the ginger. Small but powerful enough to give fresh taste, not boring or bland.

Fried Shallot is common thing in my place, Indonesia. We can find them in every stores. If you don't have it, chopped shallot and garlic, mix it with salt, then deep fry them in over low heat. Don't have much time? Go to Asian store and you might fine them. If, you can't find any Asian Store (I know it's not that easy to find it), substitute with garlic powder and pinch of salt. How hard can that be?

The mixture is kinda look liked dumpling dough but not that stiff. It is sooo sticky and thick, can't be shaped by hand, even though your hand is covered by flour. See the picture below? Little mountain of sticky dough.

So how we shape it? Meet our magic tool, spoon. Yes, spoon! Take a spoon and Frying Spatula, make Hell's Kitchen's pose, light the fire, take a picture, post it on Ins.. okay, everybody stop! We'll get serious from here as we'll play with time, fire, and real hot oil.

Now, pour the oil into our wok or deep frier. Heat it to 375F. Turn the heat to low. Take the dough with the back of one spoon. Grease the frying spatula with oil, just dip it quick to the wok. Not all part, only the "spatula" part. Press the dough, shape it thin, gently drop each piece of oatmeal dough into hot oil.

Sorry for the bad pictures. My kitchen tools are kinda old, about 15 years old. They don't looked pretty but they've given my family awesome dish until today. That black color on the wok is not rust. It just...turn black after 15 years of hard work and burning oil.

Wait until the color turn to golden brown, allowing the skin to crisp. Maybe, about 1 minute per side. I said "maybe" because I didn't count the time. I just watch over the color. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper tower lined plate. Serve immediately. Enjoy the Crisp and Crunchy Fried Oatmeal Cake.

That little piece is prettier, isn't it? I use strainer to filter the oil and reuse it

A little note, we often use breadcrumbs and flour+water or flour+egg batter to make crisp food, but you don't need them for this oatmeal cake. You can add 1 tbsp of flour or more if you don't like the goey texture. Craving for more vegetables? Add broccoli, carrot, peas, corn, anything. Just remember to boil them then mix them into the dough. Or more meat? Easy. Add bacon, ham, sausage, chicken, anchovy, just name it. Lovely, easy, crunchy, and the most important is, yummy.

Sorry if my English is kind of mess. I hope you understand the recipe thoroughly.