Prawn crackers - Made how?

"cowparts" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff up. What I want to know is
how the hard flat plastic like chips themselves are made.
If I was going to guess I'd say they boil up all the shells and other
leftover bits to get a think syrup that sets hard... but like I said,
thats just a guess.

Any ideas?

They are mainly tapioca flour. I have never seen it done but an Indonesian
friend told me the flour and prawn meal is made into a stiff paste with
water and then formed into a loaf. The loaf is cut into thin slices and
then the slices are dried in the sun. I suppose commercially they would be
dried in some sort of hot air chamber instead. So the process seems similar
to making pasta in some ways.

Apparently they can be flavoured with other things besides prawns but these
variations are rarely if ever exported to the west.

David

"cowparts" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff up. What I want to know is
how the hard flat plastic like chips themselves are made.
If I was going to guess I'd say they boil up all the shells and other
leftover bits to get a think syrup that sets hard... but like I said,
thats just a guess.

It's made from pieces punched out of partly dried sheets of rice starch with
added either/and/or prawn flavouring/dried prawn pieces (not much mind) salt
etc, then they're fully dried off and packaged.

HTH!

Shaun aRe didn't see that through the round/square/oval window!

"David Hare-Scott" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

"cowparts" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff up. What I want to know is
how the hard flat plastic like chips themselves are made.
If I was going to guess I'd say they boil up all the shells and other
leftover bits to get a think syrup that sets hard... but like I said,
thats just a guess.

Any ideas?

They are mainly tapioca flour.

Whoops! I forgot about that - yup, mainly tapioca starch rather than rice,
sorry for the mistake in previous post!

Quoted message said:

I have never seen it done but an Indonesian
friend told me the flour and prawn meal is made into a stiff paste with
water and then formed into a loaf. The loaf is cut into thin slices and
then the slices are dried in the sun. I suppose commercially they would

be

Quoted message said:

dried in some sort of hot air chamber instead. So the process seems

similar

Quoted message said:

to making pasta in some ways.

I only saw it being done on TV in a small factory - yup, mixed into a dough,
cut into sheets, stamped out shapes, dried and packaged.

Quoted message said:

Apparently they can be flavoured with other things besides prawns but

these

Quoted message said:

variations are rarely if ever exported to the west.

Shame!

Shaun aRe

"cowparts" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff
up. What I want to know is how the hard flat plastic
like chips themselves are made.

I haven't tried this recipe yet (the road to hell, good intentions, etc.),
but it came from EHS/ellen, right here at rec.food.cooking, back in 2001.

*****
Shrimp Chips

1 lb Large Shrimp, shelled and minced
1 lb Tapioca flour
1 oz Salt
1 tsp White pepper powder
1 cup Water

1. Bring water, salt, and pepper powder to a boil. Pour boiling water onto
the tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl, and stir quickly with a cooking
spoon. Add in the minced Shrimp and knead them as you would to dough. As the
water content of the shrimp is unpredictable, you may adjust it by adding
more boiling water. The dough should be on the hard side. Now shape into a
cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. If you do not have the proper steamer for
this process, a bamboo rack or cake cooling rack will do. Lay a cheesecloth
underneath and on top of the dough and place it on the rack. Make sure the
cylinders of dough are far enough apart (at least 1 1/2 inch if space
permits) to prevent them from sticking together. Steam at a high temperature
for 45 minutes. Make sure there is plenty of water in the steamer to avoid
having to open it to add more water.

2. After steaming, bring out, remove the cheesecloth, and cool the dough on
another rack. Keep in a cool place to dry. The time varies from 1 to 3
days.If you can cut it with a very sharp knife, then start to cut it in thin
slices (about the thickness of a penny). Now lay the slices on a piece of
cardboard and dry in the sun until brittle. Don't hurry the drying before
you cut them.

3. You can store them indefinitely in a can. When you want to use them,
calculate 2 or 3 chips per person. Deep fry in oil at 360F temperature. If
the process has been done correctly, the chips will be done in a matter of
seconds. They will increase their size several times. Drain and serve.

Thank you all, especially jacqui{JB}.
I always wondered if they could be made in some other flavor. They are
such a great alternative to corn chips etc but my friends with seafood
allergies miss out.
Now I have to urge to get experimental.

cowparts said:

Thank you all, especially jacqui{JB}.
I always wondered if they could be made in some other flavor. They are
such a great alternative to corn chips etc but my friends with seafood
allergies miss out.
Now I have to urge to get experimental.

If you go to an Indian grocer, there will be similar things but without
the prawns. One name for them is farfar, which come in different shapes
but fry up like the prawn crackers. Suitable for vegetarians.
Also consider pappads/pappadums. Another vegetarian alternative to corn
chips.

cowparts said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff up. What I want to know is
how the hard flat plastic like chips themselves are made.
If I was going to guess I'd say they boil up all the shells and other
leftover bits to get a think syrup that sets hard... but like I said,
thats just a guess.

Any ideas?

My MIL has a recipe for these somewhere. I'll see if we can find it for
you...

cowparts said:

Anyone know how prawn crackers are made?
I know how you cook them and make them puff up. What I want to know is
how the hard flat plastic like chips themselves are made.
If I was going to guess I'd say they boil up all the shells and other
leftover bits to get a think syrup that sets hard... but like I said,
thats just a guess.

Any ideas?

Got this recipe from the MIL, as promised. Looks like a lot work to me,
but here goes anyway!! Got this from "Thai Cooking" by David Thompson -
great book and well worth it if you like this sort of thing....

The author says: "The best prawns for this recipe are ones that are a
little too old to use for anything else - these will puree easily and
produce lighter, airier crackers...."

1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
100g (3 oz) minced uncooked prawns (shrimp)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
pinch of castor (superfine) sugar
1 3/4 cups tapioca flour
1 tablespoon plain (all-purpose) flour
4 tablespoons boiling water
oil for deep frying

Method

Pound garlic, salt and pepper into a paste. Pound prawns until smooth
and sticky.
Add garlic paste and season with fish sauce and sugar.

Sieve flours together, then divide into two halves. Work one half into
the prawn paste and knead until sticky. Moisten the remainder with the
boiling water to form a tight paste. Add prawn paste and knead
vigorously. If too dry, add a little more water; if too wet, a little
extra flour. Continue to knead for 5 minutes until quite firm. Roll into
a cylinder about 4cm (1 1/2in) in diameter. Steam for at least 20
minutes or until cooked. Remove and cool, then slice into very thin
discs and dry thoroughly in the sun or a warm, dry place. Store in an
airtight container and, when required, deep-fry in plenty of hot oil.