Ukoy is one of the most popular street food in the Philippines. Essentially julienned mixed vegetables bound by a thin batter, fried until crispy and served with a spiced vinegar sauce.
There are many versions of Ukoy and it comes in all shapes and sizes as there are many cooks. One has shrimps included( a very small variety of soft shelled shrimp called suwahe) that fries crispy. Sometimes it’s made with pumpkin but my take is made with shredded sweet potato as it retains its crunch even after its cooled down.
As the veggies in Ukoy are shredded it’s a little bit tricky to fry. My dad’s trick was to set the Ukoy in piece of banana or cacao leaf (to help it stick together) and then lowered it to the hot oil. Then the leaf was removed as soon as the batter cooked and formed into one piece.
Sweet Potato and Bean Sprout Fritters (Ukoy)
8
servings15
minutes15
minutesUkoy is a deep fried vegetarian fritters, a popular street food all throughout the Philippines. It is usually dipped in a garlic chilli spiced vinegar.
Ingredients
1 cup shredded sweet potato about 1 small sweet potato
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 small carrot shredded
1 small cake of bean curd ( Tokwa) cut into strips
3 stalks of spring onion, sliced finely
- Batter
1 cup plain flour
1 cup cornflour
1/4 cup water
Salt & pepper to taste
Oil for deep frying
1 teaspoon turmeric or anato powder
1 beaten egg
- Spiced Vinegar Dip
1 small chilli sliced
3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1/4 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Directions
- In a bowl combine sweet potato, carrots,bean curd strips spring onion and bean sprouts.
- Make the batter. Combine flour corn flour and add salt and pepper to taste. Make a well in the centre and add beaten egg water and turmeric powder. Mix until just smooth.
- Add enough batter to the vegetable mix to me them clumpy.
- Heat the cooking oil on medium in a deep pan. Carefully hold a slotted spoon on ear the pan. Place about 3 tablespoons of the veggie mix into the slotted spoon. Carefully lower the slotted spoon to the oil. As the edges cook, the fritter should float to the top. Repeat with the remaining batter. Fry about 4 fritters at a time and avoid over crowing. Remove fritters with slotted soon and place in a plate lined with paper towels.
- Spiced Vinegar Dip
- Combine all the ingredients. Correct seasoning. Serve with the fritters.
Notes
- anato powder is sold in sachets at Asian shops. Substitute with turmeric. It adds a subtle yellow colour, does not add flavour so it can be omitted altogether.
