In a bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, flour, salt, granulated garlic, white pepper, Aleppo pepper (if using), egg, milk, and olive oil. Add the Chinese sausage and scallions into the bowl and mix until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Heat a waffle maker at medium heat. Pour some olive oil into a bowl for greasing the waffle iron. Once pre-heated, brush olive oil over the top and bottom plates of the waffle iron.

Put some of the mashed potato mixture into your waffle iron. My waffle iron makes 4 small square-shaped waffles, and I use a large cookie scoop to put about 1/3 cup of the mashed potato mixture into each quadrant. If you have a circular Belgian waffle iron, you may want to put more batter in the center to create a larger waffle.

Close the waffle maker and cook the waffles for 5 minutes. Open the lid and check the color of the waffles. If they are lightly golden (like you see in the photo below), cook the waffles for another 2 to 3 minutes. If the waffles have barely browned, they’ll need a few more minutes. The bottom plates of my waffle iron run hotter than the top, so I like to flip the waffles after 5 minutes to ensure that both sides are cooked evenly. Cook the waffles until the ridges are golden and the pockets are a rich brown color, an indication that the pockets are crispy.