Prawn crackers, shrimp chips or keropok udang is a type of snack made from tapioca flour and shrimp. It is a famous snack in Southeast Asia and is enjoyed by many regardless of age. It delicious just on its own, dipped with sauce or as an accompaniment to a dish.
Making prawn crackers from scratch involves many steps, but it’s worth it if you make it in a large batch. The ingredients are readily available, and it’s easy to make them. The steps involve mixing, steamed, dried, and lastly frying.
There are several methods of drying the chips. You can put the chips under the direct sun and makes sure to cover with netting to keep insects away. You can use a dehydrator if available. Alternatively, using an oven on low heat also helps to dry the chips.
There are uncooked chips widely available in grocery stores and supermarket. Once you’ve mastered the recipe, you can cook them anytime. Also available are colourful chips that are good to serve during a party or festival. Watching the chips puff up while frying is oddly satisfying.
Try this recipe to make prawn crackers from scratch.
Ingredients:
- 500 g of tapioca flour
- 500 g of prawns (peeled and deveined)
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 50 g of cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions:
- Blend the prawns in the food processor until it becomes a fine paste.
- Then, add tapioca flour into the food processor and continue mixing them. Process them until it becomes thick dough.
- Add salt, baking powder and pepper into the dough. Mix them well.
- Knead the dough until it becomes smooth, and add water or tapioca flour as needed.
- Shape the dough into two log rolls that can fit the steamer. Steam the dough for about an hour.
- Then, remove the dough from the streamer. It should have a rubbery texture by now. Let them cool to room temperature.
- Cut the dough into thin slices then dry the slices with your preferred method. Make sure they dry up into hard little slices.
- Once completely dry, you can deep fry the prawn crackers. You can store the remaining dried chips in a jar at room temperature up to 3 months.
- Make sure you have enough oil to deep fry the crackers as they need to be submerged fully in the oil. Otherwise, there can be dry and hard areas left un-fried.
- Once the crackers fully expand when frying, remove them and drain on paper towels.
- Serve with chilli sauce at the side and enjoy!
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