Shrimp Chips

Photo: flickr user www.bluewaikiki.com

Ingredients

1 pound Net weight of shelled shrimp, prawns or 1 pound Tapioca flour

1 ounce Salt

1 teaspoon White pepper powder

1 cup Water

Preparation

I think there is one step left out of the process. If I were making this I would pound the shrimp to a paste before adding them to the rest of the ingredients. This book is quite interesting, but the translation leaves a bit to be desired. The recipe intrigues me, but I've never actually gotten around to trying it out.

You can make your own home made shrimp chips with which no one can compare. Here is the recipe for non-commercial shrimp chips.

Bring water to a boil and dissolve salt and pepper powder. Pour boiling water onto the tapioca flour in a large mixing bowl and stir quickly with a cooking spoon. Add in the shrimp and knead as a dough. As the water content of the shrimp is unpredictable, you may adjust it by adding more boiling water. The dough should be on the hard side. Now shape into a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter. If you do not have the proper steamer for this process, a bamboo rack or cake cooling rack will do. Lay a cheesecloth underneath and on top of the dough and plac

After steaming, bring out, remove the cheesecloth, and cool the dough on another rack. Keep in a cool place to dry. The time varies from 1 day to 2 or 3 days. If you can cut it with a very sharp knife, then start to cut it in thin slices (about the thickness of a penny).

Now lay the slices on a piece of cardboard and dry in the sun until brittle. Don't hurry the drying before you cut them.

You can store them indefinitely in a can. When you want to use them, calculate 2 or 3 chips per person. Deep fry in oil at 360F temperature. If the process has been done correctly, the chips will be done in a matter of seconds. They will increase their size several times. Drain and serve.

Use them as a garnish for crispy fried chicken or duck etc. You can also use them as hors d'oeuvres or as appetizers.