makes
10
prep
20 minutes
cook
5 minutes
difficulty
Mid
makes
10
serves
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
5
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 2 fresh abalone, cleaned and coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 spring onions, chopped
- 1 tsp roasted chilli paste (see Note)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
- soy sauce, for dipping
Batter
- 1 egg white
- 50 ml beer
- 75 g (½ cup) plain flour
Instructions
Place the abalone, garlic, ginger, spring onions and chilli paste in a food processor and process for 2 minutes or until a paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To make the batter, using a fork, lightly beat the egg white in a large bowl until frothy. Whisk in the beer, then the flour until just combined - it doesn’t matter if it has lumps), then leave to rest for a couple of minutes.
Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. To test if the oil is ready for frying, drop a little batter into the oil and if it starts to crackle evenly it is hot enough. Working in small batches, scoop out a tablespoon of abalone mixture, then drop it into the batter to lightly coat. It doesn’t matter if there is only a light coating of batter and there are some ‘bald’ patches. Carefully drop the fritters into the hot oil and cook for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Abalone doesn’t take to over cooking some make sure you don’t cook it for longer then 2 minutes. Drain on paper towel, then serve warm with small bowls of soy sauce for dipping.
Note
• Roasted chilli paste (nam prik pao) is available in jars from Asian supermarkets.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
