Recipe: LINGHAM’s Chili Cucur Udang

With the festive Raya holiday coming right up, I decided to make a scrumptious snack that is loved by many Malaysians. Our melting pot of culture allows us to grow up with a plethora of choices in food. I grew up waiting for my neighborhood’s pasar malam to come once a week so I can go and buy the array of street food at the pasar malam.

It was such a treat because I can never wait to taste all the various flavours of the assorted Malay, Chinese and Indian stalls selling their specialties. One particular stall that I will surely visit is this makcik selling freshly fried and piping hot cucur udang and cucur jagung. There is something deliciously satisfying of strolling along the pasar malam and digging into a bag of small balls of cucur, usually made with vegetables and prawns. Though the cucur is always already good on its own, there is this must-have side of sweet chili sauce that makes the cucur even more enticing.

Then years goes on and when I learn to cook, my sister’s made from Indonesia shared her recipe of Indonesia Bakwan with me. Similar to our local cucur, the bakwan is also vegetable or prawn fritters. To join the bandwagon of the coming Raya holidays, here’s my recipe of Cucur Udang made with extra loves from LINGHAM’s Chili Sauce range.

I used the LINGHAM’s Sriracha Sauce to add extra kicks to my cucur udang and it turned out to be a bomb of flavours. The pungent and spicy Sriracha sauce worked wonders on the flavour profile and is very versatile to be added into a lot of dishes easily. The recipe is simple as it just needs prep work in advance, mix all together and then fried when ready to serve.

Finally once fried, serve the cucur udang with your choices of any of LINGHAM’s Chili Sauce. I chose the LINGHAM’s Thai Chili Sauce because it reminded me of my yesteryears favorite cucur udang served with a sweet chili sauce.

Happy Cooking and Selamat Raya Adilfitri in advance to Every One celebrating!

LINGHAM’s Chili Cucur Udang

Ingredients

200gm        Small/Medium sized Prawns (shelled)

100gm        Cabbage (shredded finely)

150gm        Corn (frozen or fresh)

30gm          Kuchai or Chives (chopped)

Half             Carrot (shredded finely)

Half             Onion (minced)

2                 Red Chili (deseeded and chopped)

2 cloves       Garlic (pounded into paste)

150gm         Flour

50gm           Rice Flour

1 tbsp          Baking Powder

1tsp             Chicken Powder

1tbsp           LINGHAM’s Sriracha Chili Sauce

1                 Egg

2/3 cup        Water

                   Salt and Pepper to season

                   Cooking Oil for deep frying

                   LINGHAM’s Thai Chili Sauce to serve

                   Cucumbers and Fried Tempe (optional)

Method

Prepare all the ingredients as stated in the Ingredient list.

In a big bowl, mix together garlic paste flour, rice flour, baking powder, chicken powder, LINGHAM’s Sriracha Chili Sauce, egg, water, salt and pepper to season till smooth.

Do not over work the mix but just enough to bine everything together.

Add in cabbage, corn, chives, carrot, onion, red chili and prawns.

Mix again gently till combined.

Heat up oil in a deep pan till hot and then lower the temperature to medium.

Drop in spoonfuls of the batter one at a time into the oil to deep fry on medium low heat till cooked and golden brown.

Drain on paper towel and serve hot with LINGHAM’s Thai Chili Sauce with cucumbers and fried tempe.

Makes about 28 to 30 pieces of Cucur Udang

Extra Notes and Tips

• Omit the prawns and chicken powder to make this a vegetarian cucur and add in more corn and cabbage
• LINGHAM’s Sriracha Sauce gave the cucur a moreish spicy bite but can be omitted if you are making this for young eaters.
• One can also add Beansprout, Spring Onion and Bell Peppers for extra flavour and textures
• Mix all the batter ready and keep in the fridge to chill till you are ready to fry them up
• Serve with any of LINGHAM’s chili sauce for different flavours