Banh Tom (Vietnamese Shrimp & Sweet Potato Fritters)
Inspired by the streets of Hanoi, my homemade banh tom recipe is made by mixing shrimp and thinly sliced sweet potatoes into a thick batter, then frying until golden and crunchy. Serve the fritters with fresh herbs and nuoc cham for dipping
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 ¼ cup potato starch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb shrimp (shell on, halved)
- 2 lb sweet potatoes (julienned)
Instructions
- 1
Combine all the ingredients through salt in a large bowl. Whisk until a smooth, loose batter forms.
- 2
Pat dry the shrimp and sweet potatoes. They don’t have to be bone dry, but get as much of the liquid off them as possible. Add them to the bowl. Mix to coat them with the batter.
- 3
Heat a couple cups of oil to 300 degrees F. You can use a cast iron skillet, stainless steel pan/pot, or dutch oven. Make sure the oil is ~1 inch deep.
- 4
Cover a large plate with paper towels. This is where you will place the fritters after they’re done frying.
- 5
Using a ladle, scoop and drop the sweet potato fritters into the pan. Fry for 5-10 minutes until crispy on all sides. If the oil doesn’t fully cover the fritters, cook for 5 minutes on each side. When done, they should be a deep orange color and crispy all over.
- 6
Scoop each fritter onto the plate with the paper towels. The paper towels will soak up any excess oil. Repeat this process until all the fritters are done.
- 7
Serve with lettuce, mint, and nuoc cham. Other optional herbs and vegetables you can include are cucumbers, carrots, Thai basil, and rau ram (Vietnamese coriander).