Filipino prawn fritters (okoy)

Okoy are classic Filipino prawn fritters made with julienned veggies and small prawns, fried crispy and dunked in vinegar chili sauce.

Filipino prawn fritters (okoy) Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ½ sweet potato
• 1 medium carrot
• ½ red onion, plus extra for the dipping sauce
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• ½ bunch coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish
• 1 ½ cups cornflour
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ¾ cup water
• 200 g peeled school prawns, tail on
• rice bran oil, for frying

Dipping sauce

• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1 small fresh chili, sliced
• pinch of sugar

Instructions

1. Using a julienne peeler, cut the sweet potato and carrot into thin matchsticks. Thinly slice the red onion. Finely chop an extra 1 tbsp red onion and set aside for the dipping sauce.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potato, carrot, sliced red onion with the bean sprouts, coriander, a generous pinch of salt and pepper and half the cornflour. Toss well to combine.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining cornflour with the fish sauce and water and mix well to form a thin slurry. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat with ½ cm thick oil.
4. Fill a slotted spoon with the cornflour dredged vegetables and top with a few school prawns. Pour over a few spoonfuls of the cornflour slurry. This results in lighter fritters. Gently ease the fritter mixture into the hot oil, working to shape the mixture into a fritter. Cook for 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown.
5. To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
6. Serve the fritters with the dipping sauce. Sprinkle with a few extra coriander leaves.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.