Thai prawn balls on rice cakes
A little easy snack. If you love prawns and have 30 minutes to spare, you will be treated with these crispy and herby little yummy bites.
These are typically made with a slice of white bread covered with a little prawn/herb mixture then deep fried. It is a popular starter in a Thai restaurant.
I made an adaptation to the classic version as I wanted a lot more prawns and less bread. So they become these balls sitting on rice cakes. Rice cakes are less greasy when deep fried.
I had to guard a handful of these yummy bites for my photo otherwise they would have disappeared as soon as they were cool enough to eat!
Recipe tips
When you have to feed a lot of people or if raw prawns are too expensive, you can include a quarter of the mixture with minced pork. It is equally delicious and easier to form a ball.
In the photo here I went for 100% raw king prawns. It worked well but slightly tricky to form into a ball as it is less meaty than having a bit of minced pork to bind the mixture together. So I floured my hands lighlty first which not only helped me to get a nice ball shape but also added extra crispyness. Be sure to leave the bit of the ball that will sit on the rice cake uncoated so it will stick to the rice cake.
Hope you like it.
Recipe
400 g raw king prawns chopped ( or 300g prawn mixed with 100g minced pork)
2 fresh coriander roots ( 10 coriander seeds if fresh roots aren't available)
1/4 tsp ground white pepper ( or 10 white pepper corns)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 egg
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
rice cakes of choice
Oil for frying
Method.
Pound together coriander roots, white pepper and garlic in a small pestle & mortar.
Massage the herb mixture with the prawns until well mixed.
Add the egg, soy sauce, salt. Massage in well.
Take 1 or 2 teaspoons of the mixture depending on the size of your rice cake and make into a ball.
Heat 2-3 cups of oil in a deep saucepan. The oil is ready when it is about 180 C degree.
Sit the ball on the rice cake and dunk it in hot oil. It will turn upside down!
Cook for about 3 minutes.Remove it with a slotted spoon and sit in on a wire rack. It will get more crispy as it cools down.
Serve with sweet chilli sauce ( optional )