Learn how to make these delicious prawn fritters that are light and crispy. They are great as a snack or to accompany other dishes. I'm also showing you two ways of frying the cucur udang, with or without a mould.
If the prawn you use are small enough, you can leave the head intact too. The ones I used here are small-medium, so I removed the head but keep the shells intact. You don't want to use large prawns as the shells will be too thick and tough to eat
Prepare the chili sauce:
Add all ingredients for the chili sauce, except for the cornstarch. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar melts. Combine the corn starch with water and pour into the sauce to thicken slightly. Set aside
Prepare the batter:
Whisk all the dry ingredients for the batter. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is smooth. Add the bean sprouts, chives, and carrots if using. Different brand of flour may absorb liquid differently. If the batter is too thick, you can add a bit of water until the batter is thick but flowy kind of consistency
Frying (using a ladle as a mould):
Preheat about 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom pan or pot over medium heat. The oil is ready when you dip a skewer or a chopstick into the oil, you will see bubbles around it. Fry a small amount of the batter in the oil for a taste-test. If you are happy with the taste, you can proceed to fry the fritter, otherwise, add salt/sugar, or other seasoning to your liking
I use a ladle (about 100 ml capacity) as a mould. Dip the ladle into the hot oil to let it preheat for about 1 minute. This is important step. If your mould is not hot enough, the batter will stick to it really bad
After preheating the ladle, scoop some batter into the ladle and put about 2-3 pieces of the prawns on top and quickly but gently dip the ladle back into the hot oil to let it fry. The batter will detach itself from the ladle. If it doesn't, you can use a chopstick or a fork/spoon to help the fritter detach and continue to fry until both sides are nicely golden brown and crispy. Make sure you control the heat. I fry over medium heat to prevent the batter from browning too fast, but the inside is still not cooked through
Preheat the ladle each time before you fry each fritter
Frying (without any mould):
The cucur udang can be fried without any mould too. I recommend using a skillet or a pan instead in this case. Preheat about 1 inches of oil over medium heat. The oil is ready when you dip a skewer or a chopstick into the oil, you will see bubbles around it. Fry a small amount of the batter in the oil for a taste-test. If you are happy with the taste, you can proceed to fry the fritter, otherwise, add salt/sugar, or other seasoning to your liking
Scoop about 1/3 cup of the batter and gently pour it into the hot oil, near the side of the pan. Put 2-3 shrimps on top of the batter. Some part of the batter will cling to the side of the pan at first. This helps to "anchor" the batter so it won't disperse everywhere into the oil. Control the heat and fry over medium heat. You can use a spoon or chopstick to help the batter detach from the side of the pan and continue frying until both sides are nicely golden brown and crispy
Keep them warm:
You can keep them warm while you are frying the rest, by putting them on top of a cooling rack sits on a baking sheet and place this in the oven at 200 F (93 C)
To serve:
Serve the cucur udang with the sweet chili sauce on the side