Fried Shrimp Patties (Ukoy)

Since we started with fried crablets yesterday, let me continue with more "guilty" food. (Drumroll please!!!) Presenting the Deep Fried Shrimp Patties! This is also one of the popular Filipino appetizers.

Actually, from the same trip to the market, I saw these super fresh tiny shrimps. And I could not resist! Besides, I figured I am going to fry them in the same oil anyway. So, might as well go ahead with these "sinful" delights. :)

The crablets are easy to do. But I wanted the shrimps to be super crispy too. So I searched my old trusty cookbooks and found one recipe from "The Filipino Cookbook" of the Maya Kitchen. I think I have this book ever since I was single. Every page is now yellow and many with stains. I must not have "consulted" this book for a long time as I have already forgotten its poor conditions. :(

In today's edition of Bookmarked Recipes, I think I should give you the original version's list of ingredients first, as I have made a lot of tweaks. You might want to cook using the original version:

1 C all purpose flour
1 C cornstarch
1 and 1/2 t baking powder
1 and 1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 C atsuete water (or red food coloring)
1 1/2 C Shrimp juice
1 egg, well beaten

2 C mongo sprouts
1 C chopped spring onions
2 pcs firm tofu, cut into strips
1/4 K small shrimps, cleaned



Some tweaks:

I did not add any vegetable, as I have more than enough shrimps already. If I had added vegetables, I would have more pieces than we can consume. So my shrimp patties were purely made from shrimps.

Since it was already full of shrimps, I omitted the food coloring, I know my patties would turn out the pretty orange-pink color of cooked shrimps. I also omitted the shrimp juice (additional flavoring).

Other than that, I basically followed the instructions given.

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add in the beaten egg and beat until smooth. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil for deep frying.

3. In a small saucer or plate, arrange a bed of shrimps, then spoon in some batter (around 3 spoonsfuls). If you are including the veggies, arrange the veggies with the shrimps as well before adding the batter.

4. Slide the mixture carefully into the hot oil. Fry until crisp and brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. Do the same with the rest of the shrimp and batter.

5. Serve with organic coconut vinegar with chilli and garlic dip.




I think the use of saucer to make the shrimp batter is a good way to keep the patties into more or less equal manageable sizes. And they also come out flat, and therefore crispy.

Aside from the veggies mentioned above, I have seen some shrimp patties (ukoy) made with strips of squash, or sweet potatoes, or even raw papaya.


Sharing this dish with the Bookmarked Recipes, a food event where anyone from anywhere can blog about a recipe they had bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc, make it and submit it to a weekly roundup.
Originated and hosted by Ruth's Kitchen Experiments, last week's collection of tried and tested recipes can be found on her site.