vietnamese style shrimp fritters with nuoc cham dipping sauce

serves 4 or appetizers for 8-10  see mike’s blog post

• 1 lb. wild gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
• 2 eggs
• 3 scallions, white section and some of green, chopped
• 1 t lime juice
• 2 t chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup julienned carrots cut in 1 1/4 inch lengths
• 2 t minced fresh lemongrass (remove tough outer skin, slice in half lengthwise, pound to bring out oils & flavor before mincing)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t red bird’s eye chili (thai chili), minced
• pinch of salt and pepper
• peanut or vegetable oil for frying

fish sauce vinaigrette (nuoc cham)

• 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 red bird’s eye chilies, finely chopped
• 6 t sugar
• 12 oz. water
• 1/2 cup fish sauce (nuoc mam)
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

prepare the nuoc cham by dissolving the sugar in water and adding the rest of the ingredients. easy!

pre-heat oven to around 150º (to keep fritters warm between batches)

for the fish cakes start out by peeling and deveining the shrimp. rinse, pat dry and chop into chunks a little under 1/4 inch.

next beat the eggs in a mixing bowl then stir in the milk. whisk in the flour and baking powder then add the rest of the ingredients.

over medium heat in a heavy pan or skillet add enough oil to cover fritters (about 1 inch deep). if you have a thermometer 350º is where you want to be. when oil is hot, with a soup spoon, add the fritters to oil. don’t worry if they are imperfect in shape, but keep them all close to 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter. after about 2 minutes the fritters will start to brown. flip them and after another 2 min., start turning them till they are cooked through, i cut into one to make sure the shrimp is opaque in the center.

serve with dipping sauce.