Savory Sweet Potato Fritters With Spicy Coconut Filling

Photo of completed Savory Sweet Potato Fritters With Spicy Coconut Filling

The best way to learn about a new culture is to try its food. Trying foods from other cultures can broaden your tastes. Introducing you today is a traditional Indonesian/Malay snack, "Savory Sweet Potato Fritters with Spicy Coconut Filling", also known as "Cucur Badak". The sweet potato dough is wrapped around savory shredded coconut fillings made of chillies, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, turmeric and then shallow fried. These sweet and spicy fritters make an excellent tea time snack with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Ingredients “A”- The fillings:

Ingredients “B”- The Dough:

  • 2 Medium Orange Sweet Potatoes (Yellow/Orange/Japanese Purple Sweet Potato-your choice)
  • ½ Cup All Purpose Flour (-/+ adjustable until it becomes a dough)
  • ⅛ Teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Granulated White Sugar (optional-if sweet potato is not sweet enough. I did not add any sugar)

Ingredients “C”:

  • Enough oil for shallow frying the fritters

Instructions:

  1. Steaming sweet potatoes. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into chunks. Steam the sweet potatoes until softened.
  2. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes before mashing it with a masher or a fork. Set the mashed sweet potatoes aside.
  3. Prepare the fillings. Add rehydrated dried shrimps, fresh garlic, shallots and water into a blender or food processor. Blend them into a rough paste, set aside.
  4. Heat up a pan or skillet over medium heat with oil and stir fry blended dried shrimps, garlic & shallots, lemongrass, red chili paste & turmeric powder for two minutes.
  5. Turn the heat down to medium low. Add in shredded coconut and stir fry until the coconut is combined with the spice paste above.
  6. Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Continue to stir fry for 5 more minutes.
  7. Turn off the heat and remove the cooked fillings to a plate to cool before using.
  8. Prepare the dough. In a mixing bowl, add mashed sweet potatoes and gradually add in flour as you knead with a spatula.
  9. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, knead them with your hand. Knead until well combined into a dough. If the dough is too sticky wet, you may add a little bit of flour but not too much. Otherwise your fritters will have a floury taste. It is normal for the dough to be a bit sticky at first. Just dust some flour on your hands while you handle the dough.
  10. Dust some flour on your hands. Roll and shape the dough into the size of a table tennis ball.
  11. Slightly flatten the dough and fill one or one and the half tablespoons of the coconut fillings. Don’t over fill it.
  12. Seal/close the fritter as shown, dust a bit of flour on your palms and shape it into a flat ball.
  13. Repeat the process.
  14. Heat up a pan or skillet over medium heat with oil.
  15. Test the oil with a wooden chopstick. When you see bubbles, it means the oil is ready. Do not put in the fritters before the oil is hot and ready. Otherwise you will end up with oily fritters.
  16. Once the oil is hot enough, slowly and carefully drop in the fritters.
  17. Fry until golden brown on both sides at medium heat.
  18. Remove the fritters and place them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
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Tips & Notes

  1. You can use other types of sweet potatoes, such as yellow sweet potatoes, Japanese purple sweet potatoes, etc., instead of orange sweet potatoes.
  2. If the dough is too sticky wet, you may add a little bit of flour but not too much. Otherwise your fritters will have a floury taste. It is normal for the dough to be a bit sticky. Just dust some flour on your hand while you handle the dough.
  3. You can use fresh turmeric instead of turmeric powder.
  4. You can use store-bought chilli paste such as Sambal Oelek or make your own blended chilli paste from fresh red chilli or dried red chilli.
  5. If shallots are not available, red onion, white onion, or yellow onion can be substituted.
  6. Feel free to use any cooking oil of your choice.
  7. Soak dried shrimp in hot water to soften them before using.
  8. You can make this a vegetarian version by omitting the dried shrimp. Now everyone can enjoy this snack!
  9. If you can get freshly grated coconut, feel free to use it. If not, desiccated coconut works just fine.
  10. Do not put in the fritters before the oil is hot and ready. Otherwise you will end up with oily fritters.
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