Hanoi Prawn Cakes with Nuac Cham Dipping Sauce & Table Salad
Ingredients
250g of fresh prawns de veined and cut into 1 cm pieces
150g of sweet potato peeled and grated
3 x spring onions cut into thin slices
Freshly ground black pepper
120g plain flour sifted
80g rice flour
220ml of water
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Vegetable oil for frying
TABLE SALAD
1 x lime cut into quarters
1 x handful of washed bean sprouts
Quarter of a crisp lettuce such as iceberg washed and drained
5 springs of each mint, coriander, Thai basil
some rocket or watercress
NUAC CHAM DIPPING SAUCE
3 x small Thai birds eye chillies finely sliced
1 x clove of garlic finely chopped
2 x teaspoons of sugar
100ml of warm water
2 limes juiced
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
Description
Chopped ginger, fresh coriander, spring onions or thin slices of carrot can be also added to the dipping sauce as well as chopped roasted peanuts, so that it can accompany numerous types of dishes.
Makes 20 cakes.
Method
Combine the two types of flour with the salt, baking powder, sugar and black pepper. Mix in the water until you have a smooth batter. Leave to rest for ten minutes. Mix in the sliced spring onions, the grated sweet potato and the chopped raw prawns.
In a heavy bottomed pan heat 2-3 cm of oil until 350F/180 C. To test to see that the oil is hot enough drop a little of the mixture into the oil it should start to bubble and sizzle straight away.
This is an important test for the taste also. If you are going to make a batch of something, which will be cooked. You must always taste one before you commence cooking the rest of the batch. You do not want to cook them all, to find that you have not seasoned them correctly. Taste the sample and adjust the seasoning.
Drop one heaped tablespoon of the mixture into the pan and pat the prawn batter into an irregular shape about 0.5cm -1cm thick. Repeat with 3 or 4 more.
Cook in batches of a few at a time. Fry the cakes turning them once until golden brown on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper. Keep warm in a warm oven if necessary.
The prawn cakes are served with what is called a table salad. You get a great combination of colours, textures and fresh vibrant taste of the herbs.
To eat, wrap the prawn cake in a combination of some of the fresh leaves and make a parcel with a piece of lettuce. The whole thing can be dipped into the accompanying sauce.
TO MAKE THE DIPPING SAUCE
Cut the chilli into thin round slices. Reserve one third of the chillies for garnish.
In a pestle and mortar crush the remaining chilli, garlic and sugar until a smooth wet paste. Add the warm water. Transfer to a bowl and add the lime juice and the fish sauce. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
Add the remaining chopped chillies to the dipping sauce.
Categories
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