It's strange... it was very hard (harder than usual) to leave home but when I got back to the Bubble the routine came back like I never left. Walk to lectures...walk to Morrisons...do my laundry...prep meals for the week... It's funny. Being here somehow transforms me into a 'responsible' adult. :p Imagine that?
That's not to say I don't miss home though. I do, very much so. Granted, homesickness doesn't hit me as hard as it did in my first year but I still feel it every once in a while. Not surprisingly I feel it most during meal times...somehow a mushroom omelette doesn't quite compare to a good prawn curry, y'know what I mean?
Anyways, it's times like these that I'm thankful for being able to cook. If I miss something, chances are I can whip up something akin to the real thing! Granted, the flavours aren't usually spot on, but I get as close as I can. :)
One of the last things I threw together before I left were these prawn fritters. Cucur udang, as it's known back home is a very common teatime treat. More likely than not if you've grown up in Malaysia you would've had these as a snack at some point in your life.
While most recipes use fresh prawns, these get their richness from pounded and fried dried shrimp. If you have all the ingredients on hand, they come together in a snap!
Cucur Udang
- 1/4 cup dried prawns, pounded fine
- 1/2 cup a.p flour
- 1/4 tsp ground tumeric
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 carrot, grated
- 3-4 shallots, sliced thinly
- 1/4 cup chopped up Chinese Chives*
- 1/4 cup cabbage, sliced finely
- 1/2 red/green chilli, chopped finely.
1. Fry the dried prawns till golden brown.
2. Mix all the ingredients together.
3. Heat up enough oil to shallow fry the fritters 3-4 at a time. ( a handy trick I leart in cooking class: stick a bamboo skewer into the oil. When little bubbles start streaming out around the tip, the oil is ready for frying!
4. Drop tablespoons full of the mixture into the oil, and fry turning once till golden brown.
5. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with chilli sauce.
HAPPY EATING!!
