Homemade Shrimp Cracker or Prawn Crackers

One of our favorite Spring memories is watching my mother deep-frying the shrimp crackers, sometimes called prawn crackers. Mom throws several spices of store-bought shrimp crackers in that deep-colored wok with lots of peaceful oil, which may differ in multiple colors, but they will puff up immediately and blossom just like flowers. Suddenly, a screen of a garden with blossoms came to my eye.

You may wonder how this happens. Shrimp crackers are a crunchy snack made from fresh shrimp, tapioca starch, and water. I will cover everything and provide detailed steps for making shrimp crackers at home.

What are shrimp crackers?

Shrimp crackers, also named prawn crackers, are deep-fried from thinly sliced starch dough flavored with fresh shrimp. Shrimp crackers might be in green, pink, red, and yellow colors with the help of food coloring.

The original color of the shrimp cracker is either white (if only shrimp taste is added) or slightly yellow because of the real shrimp added.

The most challenging part of making homemade shrimp crackers is slicing them into skinny slices. You will need to try your best with a sharp knife. The store-bought shrimp crackers are smashed while I use a knife. As you can see from the following picture, my version is slightly thicker. But it tastes much better in terms of flavor because I use real shrimp in the dough.

Our homemade version has a slightly salty taste and a strong shrimp aroma, which you may also describe as seafood flavors with a super crunchy texture.

Ingredients

To make shrimp crackers, we will need just a few ingredients. The basic ingredients are shrimp, water, salt, sugar, and ginger. But we still need a special starch—tapioca starch.

• Fresh shrimp – You can use high-quality prawns. I use freshly peeled prawns.
• A small piece of ginger can help remove the odd raw taste and enhance the seafood flavor of the shrimp crackers.
• Water – for combining the dough
• Tapioca starch is a little particular and less popular than cornstarch in the kitchen. It is the strongest starch among our common types and thus can support super thin slices. If you have ever made boba pearls at home, the two foods share the same main ingredient.
• Additionally, we need salt and sugar for the basic flavors.

Step by step of homemade shrimp crackers

Prepare the shrimp paste. Throw 180g of shrimp, one piece of ginger, and 150 ml of water into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Then add salt, sugar, and tapioca starch. Stir with a scraper first to mix everything well.

You may find the dough a bit hard to handle because it is not regular because there is no gluten inside the dough. But never mind, we only need to knead it evenly.

Next, transfer the dough to an operating board. Shape it into a super long log and divide it into 6 portions. Take one portion out and shape the two ends and make them smoothy in surface.

Now, let’s cook the dough. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the dough pieces for about 20 minutes, making sure that the dough is cooked thoroughly.

Note: place the dough pieces one by one with the help of a strainer scoop because the dough will stick to the bottom immediately if you place it directly. Place one dough piece in the strainer, then place it in boiling water. Wait for around 10 to 20 seconds until the surface firms, and shake to remove it from the strainer. Repeat to finish all of them.

Set aside the pieces of cooked dough and let them rest overnight. This should be ample time for the dough to dry. Remember that you will be frying the dough, so make sure to place it where it will not acquire any additional moisture.

Cut the dough into thin slices and continue air-drying them until completely dried.

Alternatively, if you have an oven, you can accelerate this process by baking them at 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) using the top and bottom heat for 2-3 hours. Check occasionally to see if they have become scorched and crispy. Turn as needed.

Deep-frying the shrimp crackers: Once sliced shrimp crakers are completely dried, you have ready-to-cook prawn crackers. To cook the crackers, heat some oil in a pan at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit). Keep frying until they puff up. This process can be super quick, around 4-5 seconds. Transfer out and then place on oil paper.

Let’s compare this homemade version with the store-bought version. Our homemade version is yellow while much thicker in texture. The store-bought original version is almost pure in color and quite skinny in texture. In terms of taste,homemade version has a better and stronger seafood taste.

Shrimp Crackers

This homemade shrimp crackers have the best strong flavors since it contails a portion of real shrimp. A must trying homemade snack for children.

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Ingredients

• Oil for deep- frying
• 180 g fresh shrimp
• 1 small piece of ginger minced
• 150 ml water
• 400 g tapioca starch
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar

Instructions

The dough

• Prepare the shrimp paste. Throw 180g of shrimp, one piece of ginger, and 150 ml of water into a food processor and blend until smooth.
• Make the dough |Then add salt, sugar, and tapioca starch. Stir with a scraper first to mix everything well. You may find the dough a bit hard to handle because it is not regular because there is no gluten inside the dough. But never mind, we only need to knead it evenly.
• Divide into small portions | Next, transfer the dough to an operating board. Shape it into a super long log and divide it into 6 portions. Take one portion out and shape the two ends and make them smoothy in surface.
• Cook the dough | Now, let’s cook the dough. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the dough pieces for about 20 minutes, making sure that the dough is cooked thoroughly. Note: place the dough pieces one by one with the help of a strainer scoop because the dough will stick to the bottom immediately if you place it directly. Place one dough piece in the strainer, then place it in boiling water. Wait for around 10 to 20 seconds until the surface firms, and shake to remove it from the strainer. Repeat to finish all of them.
• Set aside for drying | Set aside the pieces of cooked dough and let them rest overnight. This should be ample time for the dough to dry. Remember that you will be frying the dough, so make sure to place it where it will not acquire any additional moisture.

Slice and Bake it until completely drying

• Cut the dough into thin slices and continue air-drying them. Alternatively, if you have an oven, you can accelerate this process by baking them at 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) using the top and bottom heat for 2-3 hours. Make sure to check occasionally to see if they have become scorched and crispy. Turn as needed.

Deep-frying the shrimp crackers

• Once the shrimp crackers are dried completely, you have ready-to-cook prawn crackers. To cook the crackers, heat some oil in a pan at 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit). Keep frying until they puff up. This process can be super quick, around 4-5 seconds. Transfer out and then place on oil paper.