Bang bang tater tots

Name: Bang bang tater tots
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 1 packet (about 900g-1kg) frozen potato gems (tater tots)

Carby, sweet and savoury, these fancified potato gems are what snack dreams are made of.

Katrina Meynink

December 8, 2025

Bang bang tater tots are so delicious, they come with a warning.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4-6

You will not be able to stop eating these. I know. Each time I tweaked the recipe, I tried. But it was as if an alternate personality had taken over, and I couldn’t get that hand-plate-mouth motion working quickly enough.

Served alongside an icy cold bevvy, this is what snack dreams are made of.

Ingredients

1 packet (about 900g-1kg) frozen potato gems (tater tots)

BANG BANG SAUCE

125ml (½ cup) sweet chilli sauce
60ml (¼ cup) fish sauce
1 tbsp sweet soy
½ cup brown sugar
pinch chilli flakes
pinch garlic flakes

TO SERVE

100g (about ¾ cup) roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced (julienne)
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
40g (1 cup) chopped mixed herbs (coriander, mint, Thai basil)
1 spring onion, sliced
1 jalapeno chilli, finely sliced, seeds removed (optional)
zest and juice of 1 small lime

Method

Step 1
Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
Step 2
Spread the potato gems over a large baking tray, pop them in the oven and bake until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes. Turn them halfway through. You want to make sure they take on a fair bit of colour – they need a crisp exterior so they don’t go soggy when tossed with the sauce.
Step 3
To make the bang bang sauce, add all the ingredients to a large saucepan, place over low heat, and simmer until the sauce thickens and reduces by almost half – you want it to take on an almost jelly-like consistency. Keep a close eye on it and stir regularly, as you don’t want it to burn.
Step 4
Remove the sauce from the heat and stir through the peanuts, ginger and sesame seeds.
Step 5
Scrape the golden potato gems into the saucepan and stir gently to coat evenly in the sauce.
Step 6
To serve, turn the tater tots out onto a serving plate, scatter with the herbs, spring onion and lime zest, and drizzle over a little lime juice. Eat immediately while they are hot, sticky and crispy, and delicious.