"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message >...
> We had prawn crackers with curry the other night and I got to thinking how
> much I like them and it seems they haven't been mentioned here - so here is
> AYEWTKBWATA of prawn (shrimp) crackers.
>
> What are they?
> Prawn crackers (Krupuk Udang) are a snack or side dish popular in SE Asian
> cuisine, eg Indonesian, Malasian. They are made from tapioca flour and
> prawns. They end up very light, tasty and crunchy, a good accompanyment to
> spicy food or a replacment for potato chips, nuts etc, such as with beer.
>
> How do I make them?
> You don't. You buy them raw from a specialty asian food shop or other
> quality supplier. The good ones are about 3-4 in long uncooked, a good
> orange/salmon colour and taste of prawns when cooked. The bad ones are
> pink, green, blue etc; have no appreciable flavour and are usually smaller,
> say 2in long.
>
> How do I cook them?
> Fry in hot oil. Use mild oil such as peanut and make sure it is clean. The
> key is to get the temperature right. I wish I could specify in degrees but
> I can't. The oil should be quite hot but NOT smoking. If the temp is right
> they will expand to about double their size in about 10-15 seconds, the
> texture will be fragile, crunchy and melt-in-the-mouth, the flavour will be
> of prawns, the colour will be very pale salmon pink. If it is too cool they
> will not swell up correctly and the texture will be tough. If it is too hot
> they will go brown, especially round the edges, and taste burnt. Experiment
> on the broken ones in the bottom of the packet and you will soon get it
> right.
>
> Drop into oil one at a time and as it expands catch it in tongs and hold it
> flat, after most of the swelling stops turn it over briefly. You may need
> to press it down under the oil as they tend to twist up. Once no more
> swelling/bubbling takes place get it out quickly and drain on absorbent
> paper.
>
> How do I server them?
> As a snack or side dish serve quite soon after cooking. If kept too long
> they will go soggy especially if the humidity is high.
>
> How long do they last?
> Raw they keep for months in a sealed packet or jar. Cooked they don't keep
> at all unless you have a hemetic sealing system.
>
> I once went to a party where they were served raw. True story. Little
> slices of orange plastic. Even the drunks wouldn't eat them. I opened my
> big mouth and ended up cooking several packets.
>
> My your prawn crackers give you pleasure.
>
> David

Sounds like what we call "Shrimp Chips" here in the US.

Wayne