Crispy Parsnips with Kimchi Almonds

Sometimes a recipe gets into my head and I just can’t stop thinking about it, and these crispy parsnips with kimchi almonds are exactly that. I know exactly where my fascination with kimchi almonds came from. I once had a bowl, something frozen from somewhere, that had kimchi and gochugaru, a pile of vegetables, and then the most delightful, grounding, almost comforting crunch. Enter scene – almonds.

Somehow, the almonds were what I was least expecting, but they were everything that plate needed at the time. I can’t even begin to describe how it made me feel, but I just know that kimchi almonds had been on my mind ever since.

Did I know how I wanted to use kimchi almonds? Not at all. At first, I was like “on top of toast!” but that would have been too distracting. And then I thought “with roasted vegetables!” but that wouldn’t have had any crunch. And as I kept thinking, I knew that a recipe like this needed a component of sweetness. Nothing too overpowering, but something that could hold its own.

So thats how the crispy parsnip + kimchi almond combo was born. And I know it’s crazy, but I’m never looking back.

What is kimchi and how do we use it in this recipe?

Kimchi is one of my favorite ingredients of all time. It is a fundamental dish in Korean cuisine, and is a traditional side of fermented vegetables, usually cabbage or radishes.

Kimchi has a tangy, acidic, pleasantly savory flavor, made from lacto-fermentation, the same process used for sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. To begin this fermentation, cabbage is soaked in a brine of salt and spices, which kills off bacteria. Then the remaining bacteria converts the sugars in the vegetables into lactic acid. This both preserves the cabbage but also gives it the signature spicy, fermented, slightly sour flavor.

Kimchi is normally an accompaniment, but in this recipe we are blending it directly with the almonds, creating an almost kimchi-almond-breadcrumb.

Almonds have an earthy, grounding flavor, and kimchi has a strong, almost zesty flavor. Together they balance perfectly, creating a flavor and texture combination that I cannot get enough of.

Ingredients for the crispy parsnips

And even though the kimchi almonds are the inspiration for this recipe, they need a strong root vegetable as their base. Here is what you need to make the parsnip chips, and the core of this recipe:

• 6 large parsnips
• 3/4 cup sunflower oil for frying, omit this if you plan to air fry
• salt and pepper to taste

How to prepare the parsnip chips (shallow fry or air fry)

In this recipe I give you two options for the parsnips, you can either shallow fry them in a skillet, which is my personal favorite because that CRUNCH! Or, you can air fry them, which is an amazing, low oil, low mess way to get very similar results. Here is how to do both options:

Shallow Fry

• Using a mandolin, slicer or knife, slice the parsnips as thinly as you can. You want them to look like chips.
• Bring a skillet to medium heat. Add the sunflower oil so that it is about 1/2 cm deep and just coating the pan. Wait a few minutes until the oil comes to temperature. Add one parsnip chip as a “tester.” If it begins to sizzle upon contact with the oil, add another handful of parsnip chips.
• Do not crowd the pan, but shallow fry the parsnips in batches until they are slightly brown on the edges, this will take about 4 minutes. When they are golden, remove them from the pan with either a spider strainer, slotted spoon or tongs. Place them on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.

Air Fry

• Using a mandolin, slicer or knife, slice the parsnips as thinly as you can. You want them to look like chips.
• Toss them with a neutral oil, salt and pepper. Add them to the air fryer, but make sure no chips are overlapping.
• Air fry the parsnips in batches for 8-9 minutes at 375F.

How to make the kimchi almonds

Now for my favorite part. The kimchi almonds. It’s so simple to make this crumb-like topping, and trust me when I say you will want to put it on more than crispy parsnips. Here’s how to make the almonds:

• While the chips are resting, add the kimchi and almonds to a food processor and blend until a breadcrumb-like mixture forms. It should be chunky when it is finished.

How to bring this crispy parsnip recipe together

It is VERY important to note that the recipe is not finished when the two components are combined. We need to bring them back to crispy parsnip perfection. And all it takes to do that is a quick bake in the oven. Then the parsnip chips will come out perfect and the kimchi almonds will be slightly crispy, crunchy and delicious.

Here are the final steps of this recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Add the parsnips to a large bowl, add the kimchi almond mixture and then add the sriracha. Cover the bowl and shake to coat.
• Spread the parsnips and kimchi almond mixture evenly onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes or until crispy and bright red/gold.
• Top with scallions and eat immediately 🙂

And that’s it for this crispy parsnip and kimchi almonds recipe! I don’t know how many people will make it, but it was just one of those recipes that was going to live in my brain until I made it happen. But if you do make it, I hope you are as obsessed with them as I am!

And if you make it and take pics, please tag me on Instagram or Pinterest, I would love to see!

And of course leave a comment if you have any questions! You all know this is the best place to reach me.