Info
- Course: Appetizer, Hors D'oeuvre
- Skill Level: Moderate
- Cost: Moderate
- Favorited: 5 Times
Can be made ahead of time.
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Thai Shrimp and Bean Sprout Fritters
Cookbook
Thailand
These delectable fritters come from Pranee Halvorsen, a charming, energetic teacher of Thai cooking. Packed with shrimp and been sprouts, they have an especially crisp exterior. Pranee says one of the secrets to crispy coatings on fish and vegetables is rice flour. The other is using limestone water for the liquid. Pranee buys small jars of a pasty pink limestone in Southeast Asian markets. The day before cooking the fritters, she soaks a tablespoon or so of the limestone in a screw-cap 1-quart jar with about 3 cups at water. She shakes the tile jar vigorously, turning the liquid pink. After settling, the water is clear and has tiny bubbles. The carbonation, Pranee says, contributes to the crispiness. I’ve used both limestone water and sparkling mineral water (Pellegrino) and find the results to be indistinguishable. But using the limestone is fun and authentic, and if you’re willing to seek it out, you'll get a kick out of working with it.
These fritters make great appetizers. You can make the batter 30 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients, and the fritters cook in just a few minutes. For best results, serve them right away, with the Thai Chili Sauce. You can also cook the fritters ahead and freeze them, then reheat in a hot oven. Having a dozen or so fritters in the freezer is a definite asset, so you may want to double or triple the recipe.
Pranee immigrated to the United States in 1991 from Phuket Island. One thing that her mother always had on hand was some sort of chili sauce. At home, Pranee says, they put chili sauce on practically everything. So one of the first challenges to her here was duplicating as best she could the chili sauce she loved the most. After much testing, this is the recipe she makes, and she always keeps a supply of it. It’s easy, it can be made as hot as you like, and it keeps for months in the refrigerator.
Yield : Makes 12 large fritters
Ingredients
Batter:
- 1 cup rice flour (spooned into the cup and leveled)
- 6 tablespoons cake flour (dip and sweep)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup limestone water (see headnote and Notes) or sparkling mineral water, plus more if needed
Filling:
- 4 ounces bean sprouts
- 8 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, or ½ cup thinly sliced garlic chives
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Peanut or corn oil for shallow frying
- Thai Chili Sauce (recipe follows)
Thai Chili Sauce (Makes 1 generous cup):
- 5 dried New Mexico or guajillo chiles
- 6 large garlic cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup tamarind concentrate
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (Pranee uses Marukan Seasoned Gourmet), plus more if needed
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed light or dark brown sugar, plus more if needed
Directions
To make the batter, put the rice flour, cake flour, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir with a whisk to combine well. Add the limestone water or sparkling water and whisk to make a smooth batter the consistency of heavy cream. The batter shouldn’t be too thick. If necessary, gradually whisk in a little more water. Let stand for 30 minutes, uncovered.
To make the fritters, add the bean sprouts, shrimp, scallions or chives, and garlic to the batter and stir to coat thoroughly with the batter. Line a baking sheet with several thicknesses of paper towels.
Pour about ½ inch of oil into a 12-inch skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot and on the verge of smoking, quickly spoon 6 heaping tablespoonfuls of the fritter batter into the oil, using half the fritter mixture and leaving a bit of space between the fritters. Cook for about 1 minute, until the bottoms of the fritters are golden brown and crisp. Turn the fritters over with a metal spatula and cook the second side the same way. Transfer the fritters to the paper towels to drain, and cook the remaining fritters. Serve as soon as possible, with the chili sauce.
To make the sauce, remove and discard the stems from the chiles. Cut the pods into 1-inch pieces with scissors and place them, seeds and all, into a medium heatproof bowl. Add boiling water to cover and let the chiles steep until they are very soft, about 1 hour.
Put the garlic, salt, tamarind, rice vinegar, and brown sugar into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Remove the softened chiles from the water with a slotted spoon, allowing the excess water to drain back into the bowl, and add the chiles to the food processor. Some seeds will come along with the chiles; if you like your sauce really hot, strain the water and add some or all of the remaining seeds to the food processor. Process until smooth. The sauce can be served as is, but cooking it briefly will make it even hotter. Scrape it into a medium saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat, for about 5 minutes.
Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with more brown sugar or rice vinegar if necessary. If the sauce seems too thick, thin it with a little water. Let the sauce cool, then transfer it to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Notes
Storing: You can cook the fritters ahead and freeze them. Put the cooled fritters on a tray lined with waxed paper or plastic wrap and freeze until solid. Transfer to heavy-duty resealeble plastic bags and freeze for up to 2 weeks. To serve, arrange The frozen fritters on a baking sheet and reheat them in a preheated 450°F oven until sizzling hot, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve as soon as possible.
The limestone Pranee Halvorsen uses comes in small containers and is pink and pasty. To make limestone water, put about 1 tablespoon of the limestone into a 1-quart screw-cap jar, add about 3 cups cold tap water, seal the jar, and shake well. The liquid will turn a murky pink. Let stand for 2 to 3 hours to allow the particles to settle. The water will be clear and effervescent. To use, slowly pour off what you need. Recap the bottle and refrigerate. The limestone water will be good to use as long as it’s bubbly, about, 3 or 4 days.
© 2007 Greg Patent
Note from Cookstr's Editors
Nutritional information is based on a serving size of 1 fritter.
Nutritional Information
Nutrients per serving
149 kcal
2 % daily value
6 % daily value
0 % daily value
91 mg
16 mg
5 g
5 g
1 g
20 g
28 mg
176 mg
1 g
5 g
6 % daily value
