Masterchef Champion Ping Coombes Recipe

Cucur Udang – Malaysian Prawn Fritters, Ping’s Chilli dip
Difficulty: Easy

Cucur is a well known street food. Sometimes when my mum picked me up from school late afternoon, she would take me to a place called Rainbow City opposite my school, which is lined with different hawker stalls. They usually come alive later in the evening but there is this particular hawker stall that sells fried noodles and cucur udang which opens earlier. We used to devour them in quick succession knowing it would spoil dinner...

They are very simple to make and it can be eaten hot or at room temperature. This dish is great for parties and can be made up to 2 hours in advance. They should be crispy but soft and pillowy inside.

Method:

- Put all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add water to the flour mixture to make the batter - it shouldn't be too lumpy.

- Batter should coat the back of the spoon. Add chives and prawns. Rest batter for 5 -10 minutes.

- Heat oil in a small saucepan. Oil should be hot enough when you drop a tiny bit of batter in and it sizzles and floats to the surface very quickly.

- Using a metal dessert spoon, spoon a dollop, making sure there are prawns and spring onions, and drop gently into the oil. It should float to the surface pretty quickly.

- Repeat and don’t overcrowd your pan. Turn occasionally with a pair of chopsticks or tong to ensure even colour on both sides. It takes about 3 - 4 minutes to cook through.

- Remove and drain on kitchen paper.  Serve with chilli dip.

Note: You can use a deep fat fryer if you have one and you can fry in bigger batches. You can add corn or beansprouts to the batter if you wish for a variation. 

By Ping Coombes