I’m sharing with you how to make vegetable fritters that are popular in Southeast Asia countries. Known as bakwan sayur in Indonesian and cucur sayur in Malaysia and Singapore. You can use whatever shredded vegetables you like and I’m also sharing tips on how to get crispy fritters (rangup/renyah). You can also use your sourdough discard to make cucur sayur.
Bakwan sayur is a very popular street food (jajanan pasar) in Indonesia. Some call this bakwan sayur or bala bala in different regions. The local likes to dip bakwan sayur with some spicy chili sauce. What you want to put in bakwan sayur is really flexible. Usually, shredded cabbage, carrots, beansprouts and slices of onions are used in most bakwan sayur.
TIPS FOR CRISPY CUCUR/BAKWAN SAYUR
1. The batter
I elaborate quite a bit in my crispy batter that stays crispy recipe. I don’t like to use a batter that contains egg for fritters because they don’t stay crispy for long
2. Use ice-cold water
The batter stays crispy much longer when you use ice-cold water as it slows down the development of gluten and the batter will not absorb too much oil
3. Do not over stir the batter
It is totally fine to have a lumpy batter. As long as you don’t see any more loose flour, stop stirring, the more you stir, the more the gluten is going to develop and you will end up with very soggy gummy fried fritters
3. The temperature of the oil
The perfect temperature for frying these cucur sayur is around 350 F (180 C). Too low and the fritters will be very greasy. Too high and the fritters will get burn and the fritters won’t be cooked through on the inside
HOW TO MAKE CRISPY CUCUR/BAKWAN SAYUR
1. Prepare the batter only when you are ready to fry
Mix both flours, sugar, salt, pepper, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to mix
Pour in ice-cold water and stir until just combined but still lumpy. DO NOT over stir the batter
Stir in the vegetables and aromatics
Stir until just combined and you don’t see any more loose flour but lumps are totally acceptable here
2. Deep frying the fritters
If you dip a skewer into the oil, there will be bubbles around the skewer. The oil is ready. If you fry directly on the oil without the mould, simply scoop and gently drop the batter into the hot oil
You can fry the cucur or bakwan sayur using a ladle as a mould if you like. If you want to use mould, in my case, the ladle, dip them in the hot oil for about 30 seconds.
Fill up the ladle with the batter veggie combination
Dip it into the oil to fry. It may release on its own or you can use a spoon to help the fritter release from the ladle and continue frying in the oil until golden brown and crispy
Remove from the oil and put an absorbent paper towel. You can keep them warm in the oven place on a rack to keep them crispy. Continue frying the rest and if you use the mould, remember to dip them in the hot oil before each frying
Serve them with your favorite chili sauce
If you fry the cucur/bakwan sayur at the right temperature using this batter, they stay crispy for few hours to the least. If they don’t, chances are you could be over stirring your batter and the oil temperature is not hot enough that you end up with soggy fritters.
DID YOU MAKE THIS CRISPY CUCUR/BAKWAN SAYUR RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Easy Crispy Cucur Sayur/Bakwan Sayur (Sourdough Discard Option)
Ingredients
Batter:
- 110 gr all-purpose flour
- 40 gr rice flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chicken powder
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 200 ml ice-cold water or more as needed
If using sourdough discard:
- 100 gr sourdough discard unfed
- 90 gr all-purpose flour
- 40 gr rice flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp chicken powder
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 150 ml ice-cold water
Vegetables: (or you can use 200 grams of shredded veggie of your choice)
- 150 gr carrots shredded
- 25 gr sweet corn kernels
- 25 gr green beans cut into small pieces
Aromatics:
- 50 g onion thinly sliced or diced
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- 20 gr dried shrimp omit for vegan/vegetarian version
For deep-frying:
- Cooking oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Preheat oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottom pot, about 2 inches high. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water for 15 minutes or until soft. Cut it up into smaller pieces
Prepare batter only when you are ready to fry:
- Mix both flours, sugar, salt, chicken powder, ground pepper, and baking powder (or baking soda if using sourdough discard) in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to mix. Pour in ice-cold water and stir until just combined but still lumpy. DO NOT over stir the batter. The batter will be thick but will drop down when you lift it up
- Stir in the vegetables and aromatics and again stir until just combined and you don't see any more loose flour but lumps are totally acceptable here
Deep-frying:
- If you have a deep-fryer thermometer, you can measure to make sure oil temperature is 350 F (180 C). If you dip a skewer into the oil, there will be bubbles around the skewer. The oil is ready. You can also drop a small amount of batter into the oil and it should bubble up and sizzle immediately
- You can fry the cucur or bakwan sayur using a ladle as a mould if you like or fry directly without any mould. If you want to use mould, in my case, the ladle, dip them in the hot oil for about 15-20 seconds and then fill up the ladle with the batter veggie combination and dip it into the oil to fry. It may release on its own or you can use a spoon to help the fritter releases from the ladle and continue frying in the oil until golden brown and crispy
- Remove from the oil and put an absorbent paper towel. You can keep them warm in the oven place on a rack to keep them crispy
- Continue frying the rest and if you use the mould, remember to dip them in the hot oil before each frying
- Serve them with your favorite chili sauce
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2 comments
Thank you for sharing your recipe, and especially the tips! I tried making it today and they turned out beautifully xx
So happy to know that 🙂