Crispy Small Shrimps With Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

We have a lot of fresh water small shrimp in Thailand. There are so many recipes for cooking these small shrimps. And the popular one is this tasty crispy small shrimps with sweet and sour cucumber salad (Ar-Jard). Each region will have their own tweak on the recipe. Some might add the red curry paste, and another might add a specific type of veggies or herbs in the batter. 

The recipe from my region is without red curry or any veggies. And it usually shape like a round pancake shape. However, I wanted to make mine in a bite size. So it is easier for my little one to eat it. 😊

Ingredients:

Crispy small shrimps

~ 150 g. small shrimps

~ 5 tbsp tempura flour 

~ 1/2 cup water

~ 1/2 tsp salt sauce

~ 1/2 tsp sugar

~ a pinch of ground pepper

~ cooking oil for deep frying 

Sweet and sour cucumber 

~ 50 g. sugar

~ 1/2 tsp salt

~ 1/2 cup vinegar 

~ 1 tbsp water

~ 20 g. cucumber, sliced

~ 15 g. shallots or red onion, sliced

~ 15 g. chili pepper, sliced

~ 1 tbsp crusted peanuts 

How to:

Crispy small shrimps

✔️Mix the flour, water and seasonings in a bowl to make a batter.

✔️Add small shrimps into the batter and mix well.

✔️Heat up the oil. Once the oil is hot, add small shrimps and batter into the oil. Use a spoon to scoop up the small shrimps and batter to create a round pancake shape.

✔️ Fry it in medium high heat until golden brown. 

Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

✔️ Add sugar, vinegar, salt and water to a saucepan. Cook it on medium heat until the sugar is melted.

✔️Once the dressing is cooling down. Add veggies and peanuts to the dressing before served.