Made with flavourful shiitake mushrooms instead of shrimps, these puffy chips are a delicious vegan alternative to the famous prawn crackers. Just follow along, and we’ll show you how to make them from scratch!
Also known as krupuk, keropok, and kropek, prawn crackers are a beloved crunchy snack from Southeast Asia, in particular Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. And, of course, you also have Chinese prawn crackers, which most of us in the West are familiar with.
These crispy fish crackers are the equivalent of our Western potato chips. And they’re not just a nibbling favourite: they’re also served on special occasions and festivities, such as Chinese New Year.
To help vegetarians, vegans, and folks with fish allergy enjoy this crunchy snack, we revisited the classic prawn recipe and turned it fully plant-based!
Traditionally, prawn crackers are made from a dough of prawn meat, tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour), water, salt, sugar, and seasonings.
In our recipe, we swapped prawns with juicy shiitake mushrooms.
We cooked them with sesame oil for an aromatic punch and then blended them with miso paste, garlic, and nori seaweed for that “fishy” umami-flavour finish.
That’s it!
Preparing these fried veggie crackers from scratch is quite easy, but it does require some time. It’s like a little project you can do over the weekend!
That’s because you need to steam the mushroom dough and leave it to set before slicing it into chips. Then, you must dry the chips completely in a low-heat oven until they’re brittle — which can take a few hours.
And only when the chips are perfectly dry, you can finally deep-fry them!
But it’ll be worth it: you’ll be rewarded with deliciously puffy, cracky, and flavour-jammed vegan prawn chips!
So, time to put your kitchen apron on and get started!