Blogs By Category

Blogs By Date

5/26/11

KRUPUK

The brand of krupuk I buy is Komodo brand from Indonesia.  As far as I know, it is available in two sizes -- a small chip that puffs to about 2" in diameter and a larger size that reaches about 6" when fried.  Krupuk Udang refers to the shrimp or prawn flavor of these chips.  Krupuk come in other flavors too including vegetable.  You can get them at Amazon and other Asian online or brick and Mortar markets.

Another brand from China is Pigeon Brand and is called Prawn Crackers or Shrimp Chips.  I used to use the Chinese ones, but after I discovered the Indonesian brand I switched because the ones from Indonesia have far more flavor and better texture.

The Krupuk come dry and have to be deep fried for the best results.  Krupuk Udang is made from ground shrimp, starch and salt.  Some people microwave the chips to avoid deep frying, but I've found this method to be far from acceptable.  The chips end up tough and rubbery and the edges are often uncooked.  The best way is to fry them.  Here's how -

Pour cooking oil in a wok or stir-fry pan to at least 1-inch deep.  I use canola oil.  Heat the oil to about 350 F or until a dry krupuk slipped into the oil sizzles and puffs up.

Fry only 2 or 3 at a time, if using the large variety, as they will expand to almost four times size.  Stir the krupuk as they begin to sizzle at the bottom of the pan.  In a few seconds, they will puff up and rise to the surface.  Stir and push them down a couple of times to ensure even cooking.  Don't let them float in the hot oil too long or they will scorch.

When the krupuk no longer puff up, remove them immediately with tongs or a Chinese wire skimmer ( also known as Spider) and put them in a clean brown paper bag to drain.  Give the bag a few shakes to help drain all the excess oil.  Transfer the fried krupuk to a basket or bowl,   They are best eaten right away as they are apt to absorb humidity in the air and soften.  If its humid, or you plan to eat them later, drain and cool the krupuk completely and place in a tightly sealed plastic bag.  The krupuk are best eaten the same day they were fried.

Pigeon Brand from China
Komodo brand from Indonesia.  These are the large chips.



Krupuk fried and ready to eat

2 comments:

  1. Roberto PrinselaarJanuary 21, 2012

    I dearly love Indonesian foods, such as Krupuk, Bami Goreng, Nasi Goreng, Sate, Loempia, Etc.
    My wife and I use a lot of Sambal Oelek with our food which may be too spicy for some tastes.
    In the past I have had Krupuk of different colors but I have been unable to find them lately.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've not seen colored Krupuk either, but the Chinese shrimp chips ( like Krupuk, but not as tasty) are available in assorted pastel colors. I usually avoid them because the coloring may not be natural.

      Delete

Share your comments, questions and Asian cuisine experiences here.

ABOUT HELEN CHEN

Like so many of us, Helen Chen learned to cook at her mother's side. But few of us had a mother like Joyce Chen. Helen grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her mother prepared the authentic dishes of her native Shanghai and Beijing with the sort of regularity the rest of us came to expect of macaroni and cheese or meatloaf.

"I remember when I was little, watching my mother prepare meals for family and friends. I once wrote a list of my favorite Chinese dishes," Helen recalls, "I came up with 150 recipes. I do not have one or two favorites. All the dishes on the list are traditional and all are ones that I learned from my mother. That is what I love most about Chinese food: its variety. Taste, texture and color all come into play, as does personality and culture. I think this is what cooking is all about."

Soft spoken and intensely intelligent, Helen Chen was born in Shanghai and moved to the U.S. with her family while still a baby. Helen grew up, as she describes it, in a traditional Chinese-American household. "When I was young I wanted to be totally American," she remembers. "It wasn't until I was in high school that I realized how lucky I was to have two cultures."

Today, Helen Chen is a widely acknowledged expert in Chinese cooking. Besides her role as an educator and cookbook author, she also is a corporate spokesperson and business consultant to the house wares industry. In 2007 she created and developed a new line of Asian kitchenware under the brand name Helen’s Asian Kitchen®, expressly for Harold Import Company in New Jersey.

Having been born in China and raised and educated in the United States, Helen brings the best of both worlds to her approach to the art of Chinese cuisine. She understands the needs of the American cook as only a native can, yet she is intimately knowledgeable in the culinary practices and philosophy of China.

In her active role as a teacher and educator, Helen teaches Chinese cuisine at Boston University; and, through the Anderson Foundation’s enrichment program ‘Cooking Up Culture’ she teaches Boston area school children from grades 1-12 about Chinese cuisine and culture. She also teaches Asian cuisine in numerous cooking schools across the country.

Helen has lectured to various professional and culinary organizations such as the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Boston University Seminars in the Arts and Culinary Arts, Oldways Preservations and Exchange Trust, Small Business Development Center, The Culinary Historians of Boston, Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and the Culinary Guild of New England. In addition, she conducts culinary tours of Boston’s Chinatown and is a frequent guest chef at cooking schools around the U.S.

Helen is the author of Helen Chen’s Chinese Home Cooking (Hearst Books, 1994), Peking Cuisine (Orion Books,1997) and Helen’s Asian Kitchen: Easy Chinese Stir-Fries (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). A second book in the Helen’s Asian Kitchen series, Helen’s Asian Kitchen: Easy Asian Noodles is scheduled for publication in January, 2010.