Thai Recipe: Long Chim’s Crunchy Prawn Cakes

We’ve always got time for Thai!

If you’re looking to recreate a delicious Thai banquet at home, we’ve got you covered with a crowd pleasing recipe for Long Chim’s iconic crunchy prawn cakes. It’s a snack that’s good enough to outshine the rest of the meal… it’s that good.

Check out how to make these deliciously moreish crunchy prawn cakes from Long Chim‘s David Thompson. 

Long Chim's Crunchy Prawn Cakes: Ingredients

---

Paste ingredients:

10g or 8 coriander rootsA pinch salt30g garlic40g red shallots30g peeled ginger10g lemongrass2g or around 3 or 4 Thai basil budsA large pinch of ground white pepper

Crunchy prawn cakes ingredients:

350g chopped prawns – ½ very coarsely chopped ½ almost pureed100g coarsely minced yam beans (also known as jicama – found in an Asian supermarkets)3 g fresh prawn tomalley (optional)100g or ½ cup finely minced pork fat – 100 g2 egg whites, very lightly whisked1 tablespoon coconut cream2 tablespoons fish sauce A large pinch white sugarA pinch galangal powder A large pinch chopped spring onionsA small handful of torn Thai basil leavesA small handful of whole Thai basil leaves, roughly 10 gOil for deep-frying1 small bowl of plum sauce for dipping

Long Chim's Crunchy Prawn Cakes: Method

---

Make a fine paste from all the paste ingredients listed above.Wrap the chopped and pureed prawns in a towel and squeeze to extract any excess liquid. Coarsely mince the peeled yam beans, wrap them in a clean towel and squeeze to extract any excess liquid. It should yield around ½ cup. Combine the paste with  the squeezed prawns and yam beans, the tomalley, pork fat, coconut cream and egg whites.Mix well then start to slap the mixture to develop the protein. Basically, this technique requires you to pick up the mixture in your hand and throw it down into the (sturdy) mixing bowl you are using.Season the mixture with fish sauce, sugar and galangal powder.Now slap once more and, in the words of Long Chim Chef David Thompson, “slap it damned well, almost abusively so.”Stir through the torn Thai basil and chopped spring onion. Pinch and roll the prawn cakes in dumplings – each weighing about 30 g. Press a few Thai basil leaves into the cakes. Deep fry the prawn cakes in oil. Serve with plum sauce.Enjoy!

Makes approximately 24 crunchy prawn cakes.

Enjoyed this recipe? You should also check out our other recipes from beloved local chefs. Or, if you can’t quite be bothered to cook check out our edits of the best Thai restaurants in Sydney and our favourite Thai spots in Melbourne.