← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 500 g raw prawns, peeled, deveined and patted dry
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 3 coriander roots or a few stalks
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp Fish sauce
• ½ tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Sugar
• 100 g Panko breadcrumbs
• 750 ml neutral oil, for deep frying
• 6 tbsp sweet chilli or plum sauce, to serve
• 1 Cucumber, diced, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Pound the garlic, coriander roots and pepper to a paste in a mortar.
2. Pulse the prawns in a food processor with the paste, fish sauce, salt and sugar until mostly smooth with a few small chunks. Scoop the mixture up and slap it back into the bowl 15–20 times; this makes the cakes springy.
3. Chill the mixture for 15 min so it firms up. With wet hands, shape it into 16 flat cakes about 1.5 cm thick and press them into the panko on both sides.
4. Heat the oil in a wok or deep pan to 170°C (340°F). Fry the cakes in batches for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden and cooked through.
5. Drain on a rack and serve hot with sweet chilli sauce and diced cucumber.

Tips

• Contains shellfish and wheat (panko). For a gluten-free coating, use crushed rice crackers or skip the crumbs and fry them plain.
• Keep the prawns very cold and dry; warm, wet prawns make a sticky paste that won’t bounce.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Marion's Kitchen Simply Suwanee Hot Thai Kitchen