Okoy is a dish consisting of julienned vegetables and shrimps mixed in a batter and deep fried until crunchy. It’s always served with a vinegar-garlic dip.
For most people, shrimp is a “must” ingredient in making okoy but my family is not a big fan of shrimps. We seldom buy this crustacean. In fact, I still have a pack stashed somewhere in my freezer which I bought a few months ago. This is why, I always make a vegetarian version. And it doesn’t stop there. They want it very crunchy. If it’s not, just skip the okoy and make them something else. Haha!
I played with a few batter combinations and this is what I think is the crunchiest batter (at least according to my family). The batter is very light and as long as you drop the fritters when the oil is hot enough for frying, it won’t be oily .
Give it a try and feel free to add your shrimps or other vegetables as long as you stay within the ratio of the veggies to the batter.
Crunchy Sweet Potato Okoy (Vegetable Fritters)
Ingredients
For the Okoy:
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups sweet potatoes (julienned)
- 3/4 cup rice flour or cornstarch
- 3 egg whites (beaten)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 to 2 Tbsps if cold water or 1 ice cube (optional)
- Canola Oil (for frying)
For the Dipping Sauce:
- 1/2 cup vinegar
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced)
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan and pour oil until it reaches 1 / 2 inch deep.
- In a large bowl, combine sweet potato slices (***or other vegetables), spices, flour and egg whites. Add water. Mix until well combined.
- When oil is hot, place about 1 / 4 cup of the mixture. Fry and flip halfway until golden and crunchy. Place on a wire rack to drain excess oil and keep it crunchy while frying the rest.
- Serve with the vinegar dipping sauce.
Looks yum yum!
Thank you, Sally! Hope you try it. 😊