In the Asian cookbook there are many original and unusual dishes. By the way, you are sure to be completely sure that chips are the invention of the “rotting” West, in particular the USA. However, for example, the same shrimp chips are an Asian privilege. And they began to use them here long before the American fast food. Unfinished plastic tokens that look unsightly, reminiscent of plastic, look dull. But when you fry them in oil or a microwave, they look very appetizing and pleasantly crunch on your teeth. And taste and aroma - you’ll just lick your fingers! Well, let's try and we cook?
Shrimp Chips: A Little History
This dish is common in most countries in the Pacific. For example, chips or krupuk made from flour of various origins, as well as starch, from crushed dried pre-seafood and fish, in Malaysia are a national dish. These crispy thin mugs have many cooking options. And under different names are present in other regions of Asia, as well as in some areas of the PRC. Shrimp chips are popular in Indonesia and the Philippines. And already in the last century, this product expanded its distribution in countries that have historical connections with these places: in the Netherlands, in the past - the Indonesian metropolis.
Shrimp chips: how to cook?
This kind of Asian chips can be made from various ingredients: starch and rice or other flour, dried seafood, powdered, fish and vegetables with dried fruits. These sources can be mixed in different proportions. Among the common types are shrimp chips. This dish is prepared both from pure seafood and with the addition of starch.
Simple Malaysian technology
The traditional shrimp chip recipe is quite simple. Shrimps used for cooking are usually first dried (cleaned and raw) on special sheets in the air, then rubbed into a powder mass, which in its pure form or mixed with flour (starch) plus salt is mixed in water. From the resulting dough, small and thin cakes are prepared (usually up to ten centimeters in diameter and three millimeters thick), which are then decomposed and also dried under natural conditions.
Then the previously obtained semi-finished products are fried on high heat in a huge amount of vegetable oil, usually on a wok, quickly - for only a couple of minutes. It is possible to recognize as characteristic of a dish that from frying a plate, saturated with oil, increases in size: the finished chipsin is usually much more raw in volume (3-5 times). Depending on the ingredients, the final product has a range of colors from white to light brown. But if natural dyes are also used, then different shades can be brighter. Ready-made chips can be stored in a tightly closed container for at least 2 weeks, and dry workpieces can last much longer.
How to use
The dish can be eaten as a snack before the main meal, or as an independent meal. In many cases, by the way, chips with shrimp or other seafood play about the same role that bread products play on the European table. Moreover, krupuk can be dipped in various kinds of sauces. And with large and convex plates of chips it is convenient to draw liquid or crumbly dishes, using them as spoons. Chips are traditionally served as a complement to some Indonesian dishes (for example, nasi-goreng). Among other things, some dishes, such as hot soup, as well as ketoprak, which is a kind of salad, it is customary to sprinkle with chopped chips on top.
At home
In modern kitchens, in principle, any home cook - even a beginner - is able to move on to this: sculpt grains and treat them to relatives or guests. How to cook shrimp chips? You will need the following ingredients: shrimp or crab meat, cassava starch (this is a tropical root vegetable, but can be done with potato if they are lacking, they are very similar), salt by eye, pepper to taste, lean oil for frying.
Cooking
- Defrost the meat of peeled shrimp, grind it with a blender, add starch (the proportion is about one to one, but you can vary it), salt with pepper - on the tip of the knife.
- Knead the dough in purified water to get better. Roll up the mass and give it the shape of a loaf. We put forty minutes into the double boiler.
- We take out, cool. After we put in the freezer for another 30-40 minutes.
- In this case, the dough should be cheese consistency.
- We cut the “bar” into thin plates (about three millimeters thick) and put it out to dry in the sun.
- We wait until it dries (usually this process takes up to a week).
- After drying, the semi-finished product can be fried in boiling lean oil, or you can store it in plastic bags in the refrigerator and, as necessary, make the finished dish, which turns out crispy and aromatic.
By the way, you can cook shrimp chips in the microwave. And at the same time do without oil at all (which is especially valuable for those who are used to watching their figure, but want to treat themselves to oriental delights). For cooking, you just need to get the semi-finished product from the refrigerator and turn on the microwave at medium power, putting the chips on the dish. They do not prepare for long, and you can learn about what it is time to pull out by appearance: the plates significantly increase in size. Enjoy all of you!