Do you know Banh tom or Banh tom chien khoai tay?
One of my most favorite Vietnamese meals to eat can be Banh Cuon. It’s a lot of work to prepare, which is why my mom and I often went to the place in LA that was called Banh Cuon Tay Ho. I remember the sticky tables, and the smell from the Nuoc Cham that would always be present in the air. This restaurant was famous for banh cuon but they also served other Vietnamese dishes as well. The food item Banh Tom was one of the meals.
How do you define Banh Tom?
Banh Tom is a street food item from Hanoi. There is a famous restaurant that is famous for its famous dish, Banh Tom Ho Tay. Ho Tay is a major river that flows through Hanoi. It is a dish consisting of sweet potatoes and shrimp that are fried in a batter that is thick. Sweet potatoes are cut into match stick-like pieces, then tossed in batter that is topped that is then topped with shrimp. Then, they are eaten alongside the Nuoc Cham as well as lettuce and a variety of herbs. Sometimes, you can have banh tom made with just nuoc-cham if it’s offered as an appetizer.
Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments
- Starch from potatoes helps to in thickening the batter and gives an excellent coating on the exterior of the shrimp as well as sweet potatoes. Personally, I love cooking using potato starch, however generally rice flour, corn starch or tapioca flour are utilized.
- Baking flour gives the batter more airiness.
- Turmeric It gives the batter hue.
- Eggs Helps in gluing the batter together and also helps to add some flavor into the batter.
- Water – Helps make the batter thinner a little.
- Salt to season food
- Shrimp is one of the primary ingredients of this dish. You can make any type of shrimp you like.
- Sweet potato is the other major ingredient of this dish. You could make it making use of regular potato, however it won’t be a typical recipe. I’d suggest sticking to sweet potatoes, if you are able to.
Making my banh tom recipe
Begin by mixing all the ingredients with salt in an enormous bowl. Mix until a smooth, loose batter is formed. Pat dry the sweet potato and shrimp. They don’t need been bone-dry, however try to get the most liquid out as you can. Add them into the bowl. Mix to coat them in the batter.
You’re now ready to cook! Make sure to heat a couple of cups of oil until it reaches 300 ° F. You could use a cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan/pot or a dutch oven. Be sure that the oil is at least 1 inch deep. After that put a plate over it with towels. This is the place to put the fritters once they’ve been cooked. Utilizing a ladle scoop these sweet potato fries in the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes until crisp both sides. If the oil does not completely cover the fritter completely, flip the fritter after five minutes. The finished banh tom will be deep orange and crisp all over.
After you’ve finished cooking the fritters, place them on the plate using the paper towels. They will absorb any oil that remains. Repeat this procedure until all fritters are cooked. Serve with mint, lettuce and nuoc cham. Other vegetables and herbs to include are carrots, cucumbers, Thai basil, and Rau Ram (Vietnamese coriander).
How to make an ideal banh tom?
How big is the cut sweet potatoes?
The size of sweet potatoes will depend on what you like. I cut them around 1/2 inch thick and about 2-3 inches long, because I like larger sugar potato sticks. It’s also very labor-intensive cutting sweet potatoes into smaller pieces. However, I discovered that the larger sweet potato pieces are more difficult to fry evenly. The standard size of slices of sweet potatoes is much smaller. They’re closer to 1/4 inch in size and 1 to 2 inches long.
Use a ladle for forming uniform fritters
This is something I enjoy doing. Ladles help form uniform fritters. It is also possible to make use of the spider strainer to accomplish this.
What should I do if I wish to make a batter that is thicker?
Personally, I prefer a thicker batter as I prefer to see the bright orange color of sweet potatoes. It is possible to use an even thicker batter. Use additional potato starch or flour for making the batter more dense.
Did you cook this dish?
If you’ve made this dish, I’d like to see your result!
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Bánh Tôm Chiên Khoai Tây (Vietnamese Shrimp & Sweet Potato Fritters recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of water1 tsp salt
- 1 lb of shrimp shell on one side, halved
- 2 lb sweet potatoes julienned
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients with salt in an enormous bowl. Mix until a smooth, loose batter is formed.
- Pat dry the sweet potatoes and shrimp. They don't need to be bone dry, but you should get as much liquid out as you can. Add them into the bowl. Mix them until they are coated with the batter.
- Warm a few cups of oil until it reaches 300 ° F. You could use a cast iron skillet or stainless steel pan/pot or a dutch oven. Make sure that the oil is 1 inch deep.
- Make sure to cover a large dish with paper towels. This is the place to place the fritters when they've been cooked.
- Utilizing a ladle scoop and drop those sweet potato fritters in the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until crisp across all the sides. If the oil isn't enough to cover the fritters, cook them for 5 minutes each side. After cooking, they should be deep orange and golden brown all over.
- Scoop each fritter into the plate with paper towels. Paper towels are able to absorb any oil that is left. Repeat this process until fritters are made.
- Serve with mint, lettuce and the nuoc cham. Other herbs and other vegetables to include are carrots, cucumbers, Thai basil, and the rau ram (Vietnamese coriander).
Notes
- I decided to use an uncooked batter since I love the orange-colored sweet potatoes. If you prefer more of a thicker batter, you can include additional potato starch.
- If you do not have potato starch, replace it with corn starch, or rice flour.
- How big do you need to cut your sweet potato? – The size of the sweet potatoes varies on what you like. I cut them around 1/2 inch thick, and 2-3 inches in length because I like larger Sweet potato sticks. It’s also labor-intensive cutting sweet potatoes into tiny pieces. But, I noticed that the larger sweet potato pieces are more difficult to fry evenly. The standard size of portions of the sweet potato is smaller. They’re smaller than 1/4 inch in size and 2 inches in length.
- Make use of a ladle to make uniform fritters This is something I enjoy doing. Ladles help to make uniform fritters. It is also possible to make use of the spider strainer to accomplish this.
- What should I do if I wish to make more of a thinner batter? – I personally prefer a thicker batter as I love the orange hue of sweet potatoes. It is possible to use an even thicker batter. Use additional potato starch or flour in order to make your batter more dense.