Bánh Tôm (Vietnamese Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters)

A detail shot of banh tom on a serving platter.

Bánh Tôm (Vietnamese Shrimp and Sweet Potato Fritters)

If you haven’t had bánh tôm or Vietnamese shrimp potato fritters in your life, now is the time to make them. These incredibly delicious Vietnamese appetizer is the perfect blend of sweet, savory, fresh and tangy all in one bite!

Course Appetizer, Appetizer & Sides, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword banh tom, banh tom chien, banh tom recipe, Vietnamese shrimp and sweet potato fritters

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 266kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Batter

2 large eggs
1 ½ cups (230 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (62 g) rice flour
½ teaspoon (4 g) salt
1 teaspoon (3 g) turmeric powder
2 cups (475ml) sparkling water or club soda
½ cup (65 g) corn starch

Sweet Potato

2 lb sweet potato cut into thin matchsticks, about 3-4 inches long and 1/4 inch thick

Shrimp

1 lb shrimp shell intact
1 shallot minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon (5 g) chicken bouillon powder
¼ teaspoon pepper

Serve

Lettuce
Mint
Vietnamese Perilla (Rau Ram)
Vietnamese Dipping Sauce nuoc cham

Instructions

Batter

Whisk the eggs. In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk for 2-3 minutes until pale yellow and frothy.
Sift in flour. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the all-purpose flour, rice flour, salt, and turmeric powder over the whisked eggs. Whisked until combined.
Add club soda and cornstarch. Next add the club soda and whisk until combined. Lastly, add the corn starch and whisk until combined.
Sift the batter. Sift the batter through a fine mesh sieve over a large mixing bowl to remove any remaining clumps. The batter will be thin. Cover and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Prep the Sweet Potato and Shrimp

Prep the sweet potato. In a large mixing bowl, mix together water and salt. Peel and chop the sweet potato into thin matchsticks, about 3-4 inches long and 1/4 inch thick (similar to thin French fries) and then add the matchsticks to the salt water to prevent from browning. Soak the sweet potato for at least 15 minutes before rinsing and pat dry.
Mix in the batter. After the batter has rested, add the batter to the sweet potatoes and mix to coat.
Prep the shrimp. Remove the shrimp legs and rinse with water. Pat dry to remove any excess water In a medium mixing bowl mix the shrimp with the minced shallot, garlic, chicken powder and pepper to marinate the shrimp.

Double Fry the Banh Tom

Heat a medium skillet and a medium pot of oil. Add 1/4 inch of oil to a medium skillet and about 2 inches of oil to the medium pot. Heat each of them to around 300 F.
Prepare the fritter. Stir the mixture to re-coat the batter. Take a large slotted spoon or spider strainer and scoop out a handful of sweet potatoes. Shape it to a fritter shape. Dip the shrimp in the batter and place it on top of the sweet potatoes.
First Fry. Once the oil is at 300 F, gently slide the fritter into the medium skillet and fry until the fritter takes shape about 3 minutes.
Double fry. After the fritter has taken shape, transfer the fritter to the deeper pot of oil and continue frying for an additional 3-4 minutes, flipping to cook the shrimp. It is done when the shrimp is pink and the sweet potatoes are golden brown.
Cool. Place them on a paper towel lined wire rack to cool. Repeat until all the shrimp is cooked.
Serve. Serve with lettuce, mint and Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham).

Notes

Rest the batter for at least 30 minutes. This is a must! Allowing the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes gives the flours time to thoroughly absorb the liquids and create a crispy crunch when you fry the banh tom chien.
Cut the sweet potatoes into thin matchsticks. I like to aim for about 1/4 inch thickness and 3-4 inches in length, or around the size of a McDonald’s french fry. Make sure to cut the sweet potatoes thin enough to hold their flavor and not too thick so they won’t be crispy when fried.
Soak the sweet potato in salt water for at least 15 minutes. Soaking the sweet potatoes in salt water will prevent them from browning and draws out the moisture from the sweet potatoes making them crispier when you fry them. Make sure to pat them dry before coating them in the batter.
Use a candy thermometer and fry at 350 F. Oil temperature varies a lot when you fry the banh tom chien. Make sure to use a candy thermometer so you can monitor the temperature of the oil so that it does not get too hot and it will burn or too cold and it will get too greasy.
Do not overcrowd the pans. If you overcrowd either of the oil pans when you cook the Vietnamese sweet potato fritters, they may turn out a little soggy. I usually only cook about 2-3 sweet potato fritters at a time.
Cool the fritters on a wire rack. Make sure to not crowd the sweet potato fritters and let them cool over a wire rack so they remain crispy when you serve them.

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