Vietnamese Battered Prawns Lettuce Wraps - Tôm Lăn Bột Chiên
3-4 Servings
0:05 Prep
0:15 Cook
Easy - You got this
This recipe was created in partnership with Skull Island Tiger Prawns.
The first exposure to certain foods can quickly become a distant memory, particularly at a young age. It can either ingrain good or bad memories, which will influence their taste buds. These early memories inevitably define their stance on that ‘type’ of food at that moment in time; ultimately for an immeasurable period of time.
Tôm lăn bột chiên (Vietnamese battered prawns) and lettuce wraps is the perfect family recipe to expose kids to Vietnamese home-style cooking for the first time. This dead-simple recipe combines a spin on the classic beer battered Aussie prawns with fresh Vietnamese herbs and a sweet and sour dipping sauce. For this recipe I like to use Skull Island Tiger Prawns for their rich and sweet flavour and firm texture.
Like most recipes with flour, this is a very family-friendly dish to prepare in the home kitchen. The kids can measure and mix the beer batter while the adults handle the beer and deep frying. The best way to indulge in these crispy, juicy and plump battered prawns is to wrap them up in a flavoursome parcel of Vietnamese herbs and lettuce cups. The kids can dip it in a sweet, sour and savoury sauce while the adults always have the option of adding a kick of chilli. This recipe is a great way to introduce the kids to Vietnamese herbs and satisfy the entire family.
Get ready to impress at your child’s next birthday party, host a family cooking class or enjoy some family bonding with this recipe.
Ingredients:
Beer batter:
200g plain flour
2 tablespoons rice flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
355ml beer
750ml neutral cooking oil
Dipping sauce:
3 birds eye chillies, de-seeded
3 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons of premium fish sauce
4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons of sugar
6 tablespoons cold water
½ lime juiced
Other:
1 cos lettuce/iceberg lettuce
1 bunch mint
1 bunch Vietnamese perilla
1 bunch coriander
Method:
Battered prawns:
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sea salt and beer and whisk well into a smooth batter.
2. Remove the prawn head, shell and devein then set aside.
Duncan’s tip: leave the tail and last segment of shell attached for ease of battering and frying.
3. Heat cooking oil to 180°C.
4. Coat the prawns with the batter and allow excess to drip off then deep fry in batches for 3-4 minutes or until golden then remove and drain excess oil on cooling rack. Season with a light sprinkling of sea salt.
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce:
1. In a mortar and pestle, crush and pound chillies, garlic and sugar into a paste then add remaining ingredients and mix well until sugar dissolves and sauce becomes slightly viscous.
Duncan’s tip: Don’t have a mortar and pestle? Mix all ingredients except garlic and chilli in a small mixing bowl until sugar dissolves then add finely chopped garlic and chilli.
How to serve:
1. Serve fried prawns in lettuce cups with an assortment of Vietnamese herbs (mint, perilla and coriander), a small bowl of dipping sauce and wash it down with a cold beer.
