How to make prawn crackers, a popular and delicious crispy treat in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. By changing the main ingredient, you can make fish crackers, or even make prawn crackers without prawns. (A bit of a misnomer, but you get the idea).
What is so special about Prawn Crackers?
Authentic prawn crackers are made from fresh prawns and tapioca flour, steamed, sliced and dehydrated. Subsequently, these dried dough slices are deep-fried. Like magic, they puff up almost immediately into mouth-watering treats.
Prawn crackers are served with Indonesian or Nyonya dishes such as Indonesian Fried Rice and Mee Rebus, similar to papadams are served with South-Asian curry dishes.
For those allergic to crustaceans, you’ll learn how to make prawn crackers with non-crustacean ingredients such as salmon fillet or fish paste. I even made kale (!) crackers. And behold, they are actually quite delicious.
Useful Equipment for Making Prawn Crackers
Making these awesome prawn crackers are not difficult. But modern equipment will make your task a lot easier. And so I make a list of equipment that will definitely help. Full disclosure: As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Blending and Mixing Prawn Crackers Dough
- Blender. I am sure you enjoy chopping prawns into tiny pieces with a cleaver, but just in case you are not, a food processor or blender is desired. If you don’t already own a blender, here are some recommendations. I like the one with bowl scrapper. Never leave out the last bits.
- Mixer with dough hooks. You can use a stand mixer, or a hand held mixer. However, mixing the dough with bare hands is also quite okay.
Steaming and Slicing Prawn Crackers Chips
- Steamer. After mixing, it is steaming time. Although any steamer will do, a digital food steamer makes life easier. But you can also use the all-time favourite bamboo steamer. You stack the bamboo trays over a stock pot of boiling water, and a 10″ bamboo steamer can either sit on the rim of a 10″ pot, or overhang over a 8½” to 9″ pot. Use the digital food steamer if you don’t like the raw bamboo smell. It is like the smell of durian fruit, people either love it or hate it.
- Slicer. To slice the steamed dough rolls into thin slices, you either possess an excellent knife and skill, or you can use a mandolin slicer. I have both of these mandolins, and they are quite good.
Drying and Frying Prawn Crackers
- Dehydrator. Traditionally, the dough slices are left out in the sun to dry. But modern equipment can do it efficiently and hygienically. Use either an electronic dehydrator as shown below, or an oven or toaster oven with low temperature bake setting, not more than 150°F (65C). Although optimal temperature is 130°F (55C), the batch in my toaster oven at 150°F turned up okay.
- Deep Fry. Frying time is typically around 10 seconds. If you use an electric deep fryer, do it without the cover. As an alternative, heat up a small saucepan with 1-2 cups of cooking oil, and use long wooden chopstick or heat-resistant tongs to pickup puffed up crackers from hot oil.
Ingredients:
- 450 g (1 lb) of tapioca flour (a.k.a. cassava flour)
- 450 g (1 lb) shrimp or prawn. Tiger prawn is best. (weight after shelling)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 10 g garlic salt (or minced garlic)
- ½ tsp good quality white pepper powder. I always use Sarawak or Indonesia (Muntok Island) white pepper
- Parchment paper or banana leaf, trimmed to line the bamboo steamer. Cut some holes into parchment paper
- 1 to 2 cups cooking oil for frying
Cooking Instructions
Blending and Mixing
- Peel the shrimps and remove the veins. Wash and dry with paper towel, and then chopped or puree using a blender.
- Empty the chopped prawns in mixer with dough hook. Then add in tapioca flour, salt, garlic salt, pepper and baking powder, and knead into a dough.
- Roll the dough into cylindrical tube shape about 1 to 1½ inch (2.5 to 4 cm) in diameter. If the dough is too dry, then the surface will crack. In that case, add in 1 tbsp of water at a time and knead again. If it is too wet, then add 1 tbsp of tapioca flour at a time, and knead until it can hold its shape.
Steaming and Slicing
- Line the bamboo steamer with trimmed parchment paper or banana leaf. Then cut the dough rolls into 2 or more pieces to fit in the steamer tray.
- Place the bamboo steamer on top of a pot with boiling water, and steam at medium heat (500 -700W for induction cooker), for about 1 hour. Dough will expand in shape and turn red in colour (cooked prawn). It will also appear slightly translucent and sticky to touch.
- Remove dough rolls from steamer and let them cools. Once cooled, wrap in cling film, optionally put in fridge overnight so it become firmer and easier to slice.
- Cut the tube in halves length wise, and slice into thin semi-circle slices (about 1 mm thick) with a sharp knife or mandolin.
Drying and Frying
- Line the dough slices on cookie sheet for drying in oven, or into trays of the dehydrator. Dry at 130°F (55C) for 2 hours until it is brittle and snaps easily.
- Cool the dried crackers and keep in air-tight container or zip log bags until ready to fry.
- To fry, drop the cracker one at a time into heated pot of oil (260°F/130C), As soon as it puffs up, remove and place on paper towel to cool.
Dough 
Dough rolls 
Steamed rolls 
Cooled rolls 
Dough slices 
Dry in oven 
Dry in dehydrator 
Dried slices 
Kale dough 
Prawn Crackers
Prawn Crackers
Prawn cracker is a popular snack in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is a delicious crispy treat found in North America and European restaurants as well.Authentic prawn crackers are made from fresh prawns and tapioca flour, steamed, sliced and dehydrated. The dried dough slices are then deep fried, and they puff up into mouth-watering treats.
Ingredients
- 450 g 1 lb of tapioca flour (a.k.a. cassava flour)
- 450 g 1 lb shrimp or prawn (weight after shelling
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt preferable sea salt or kosher salt
- 10 g garlic salt or minced garlic
- ½ tsp good quality white pepper powder
- Parchment paper or banana leaf trimmed to line the bamboo steamer, and cut some holes into it.
- 1 to 2 cups cooking oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel the shrimps and remove the veins, chopped or puree with a blender, then empty into a mixing bowl.
- Add in tapioca flour, salt, garlic salt, pepper and baking powder, and knead into a dough.
- Roll the dough into cylindrical tube shape about 1 to 1½ inch (2.5 to 4 cm) in diameter. If the surface cracks, add in 1 tbsp of water at a time and knead. If it is too wet, add 1 tbsp tapioca flour at a time, and knead until it can hold its shape.
- Line the bamboo steamer with trimmed parchment paper or banana leaf. Cut the dough rolls into 2 or more pieces to fit in the bamboo steamer.
- Place the steamer on top of a pot with boiling water, and steam at medium heat (500 -700W for induction cooker), for about 1 hour. Dough will expand in shape and turn red in colour (cooked prawn), slightly translucent and sticky.
- Remove dough from steamer and let it cools. Once cooled, wrap in cling film, optionally put in fridge overnight so it become firmer and easier to slice.
- Cut the tube in halves length wise, and slice into thin semi-circle slices (about 1 mm thick) with a sharp knife or mandolin.
- Line them on cookie sheet for drying in oven, or into trays of the dehydrator. Dry at 130F for 2 hours until it is brittle and snaps easily.
- Let cool and keep in air-tight container or zip log bags until ready to fry.
- To fry, drop the cracker one at a time into heated pot of oil (200F), As soon as it puffs up, remove and drain on a drainer.
Notes
** Nutritional value is for reference and estimates only, it may not be accurate. Please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer.