Crispy Prawn Fritters (Cucur Udang)
This street snack is simple and shiok! Great as an appetiser or even for afternoon tea with local kopi (coffee) or teh tarik (pulled tea), this is humble food that has been enjoyed over many generations. Best eaten while crisp and piping hot with a dollop of chilli sauce, they are too irresistible to stop at one. Enjoy it for high tea with Sweet Potato Ang Ku Kuih and Pandan Kuih Kosui
By Yeoh Lay See
Total Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: 2/5
Cost: $3.00
Yields: 20 pieces
A: Fresh Prawns
150g small prawns, approximately 20, washed and trimmed (see tip)
B: Batter
100g rice flour
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
200ml water
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 egg
2 tablespoons dried prawns, washed and minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
C: Seasoning
1 teaspoon chicken granules
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper, ground
D: Aromatics
2 spring onions, chopped
1 stalk coriander, chopped
½ fresh red chilli, seeded and chopped
E: For Deep Frying
2 litres cooking oil
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine B and C ingredients together to make batter. Set it aside to rest for 15 minutes (see technique).
Add D ingredients to batter. Stir until it is incorporated.
2. Heat up cooking oil over medium heat in a saucepan or wok until it begins to smoke. Dip a stainless steel ladle into oil to heat it up.
3. Fill up ladle with batter. Top with one prawn.
4. Dip ladle into cooking oil. Cook for 1-2 seconds, then tap against side of wok to loosen fritter. Gently slide half-cooked fritter back into the oil.
5. Cook between 6 and 8 fitters at one go, depending on the size of the wok. Ensure there’s plenty of room in the wok for fritters to ‘swim’ around so that they cook thoroughly.
6. Fry fritters until golden brown. Flip it over and fry until brown. Drain fritters on paper towels. For subsequent fritters, stir batter to ensure it’s evenly mixed before scooping more batter into ladle. Repeat until remaining batter is used up.
7. Serve piping hot with chilli sauce.
TIP: Ideal size of prawns is about 3cm – it should fit well inside ladle. Using a scissors, trim prawn’s antenna (feelers), legs as well as rostrum (‘horn’ above prawn eyes).
For more seafood flavour, dried prawns can be added to the batter.
TECHNIQUE: Resting batter before cooking ensures a tender batter – this allows gluten responsible for elasticity in the flour molecule to relax.
Photos: Yeoh Lay See
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