Ukoy (Shrimp Patty)

Julesong's Note:

Delicious and unusual way to prepare shrimp! In addition to bean sprouts, squash or sweet potato can be used in this recipe. Serve while hot or warm.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 6 Patties

BATTER

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ cup annatto water
• 1 ½ cups shrimp broth
• 1 egg , well beaten
• cooking oil

TOPPING

• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 cup chopped green onion
• 2 pieces tofu , cut into strips
• ½ lb small shrimp , cleaned
• 1 cup papaya

Directions:

1. Sift the first five batter ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Blend in the annatto water, broth and egg.
3. Beat until smooth.
4. Heat oil in high heat for deep-frying.
5. Set aside.
6. Arrange a bed of bean sprouts and green papaya in a saucer.
7. Top with some green onion, tofu strips and shrimps.
8. Add about 1/3 cup of batter.
9. Slide the mixture carefully into the hot oil.
10. Fry until crisp and brown on both sides.
11. Drain.
12. Serve with a mixture of vinegar and crushed garlic for dipping seasoned with salt and pepper.

Reviews

[mlok]

These are delicious! I loved the papaya and shrimp combo, though I'll try it with sweet potatoes another time. I didn't have annatto water so I used a bit of turmeric for colour (no idea where to find annatto here.) I shallow-fried instead of deep-frying them, adding the toppings to the pan first and then pouring batter over them, which worked well. Thanks for sharing this, I'd never even heard of Ukoy before but I'm glad I have now! (Saw this in the Asian forum somewhere.)

[mianbao]

Yum! I'd been craving these since we ate them at a restaurant in the Philippines. I used sweet potato instead of the tofu and papaya, but stuck to the recipe's ingredients other than that. I did decrease the salt to 1 teaspoon. I tried the arrange- everything-on-a-saucer method at first (I'd seen them make these like that in the restaurant), but it didn't work so well for me. After that I just mixed all the ingredients together and put spoonfuls into the oil. I also found the batter needed about 1/4 cup more flour to hold together. Thank you for posting this recipe. It's lovely.