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

"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

"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

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:24:20 GMT, David Hare-Scott
> wrote:
> 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.
[snip]

Nice post, thanks. We don't make these ourselves because
they're just way too addictive, but my dad loves them. I'm not sure
what brand he uses, but they're quite large when cooked, and are an
off-white color. Very tasty. I agree the smaller pink and green ones
aren't quite as good, even if they're a more convenient size for an
appetizer tray.

Ariane

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:24:20 GMT, David Hare-Scott
> wrote:
> 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.
[snip]

Nice post, thanks. We don't make these ourselves because
they're just way too addictive, but my dad loves them. I'm not sure
what brand he uses, but they're quite large when cooked, and are an
off-white color. Very tasty. I agree the smaller pink and green ones
aren't quite as good, even if they're a more convenient size for an
appetizer tray.

Ariane

"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message :
: Sounds like what we call "Shrimp Chips" here in the US.
:
: Wayne

Yes, it seems they have been mentioned before, I googled for "shrimp
crackers" and various other combinations but didn't think of "shrimp chips"

David

"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message :
: Sounds like what we call "Shrimp Chips" here in the US.
:
: Wayne

Yes, it seems they have been mentioned before, I googled for "shrimp
crackers" and various other combinations but didn't think of "shrimp chips"

David

Ariane Jenkins wrote:
>
> On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:24:20 GMT, David Hare-Scott
> > wrote:
> > 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.
> [snip]
>
> Nice post, thanks. We don't make these ourselves because
> they're just way too addictive, but my dad loves them. I'm not sure
> what brand he uses, but they're quite large when cooked, and are an
> off-white color. Very tasty. I agree the smaller pink and green ones
> aren't quite as good, even if they're a more convenient size for an
> appetizer tray.
>
> Ariane

We take the Indonesian kroepoek and break them up before frying. Solves
both problems

Ariane Jenkins wrote:
>
> On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:24:20 GMT, David Hare-Scott
> > wrote:
> > 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.
> [snip]
>
> Nice post, thanks. We don't make these ourselves because
> they're just way too addictive, but my dad loves them. I'm not sure
> what brand he uses, but they're quite large when cooked, and are an
> off-white color. Very tasty. I agree the smaller pink and green ones
> aren't quite as good, even if they're a more convenient size for an
> appetizer tray.
>
> Ariane

We take the Indonesian kroepoek and break them up before frying. Solves
both problems