Here’s a light, vegan appetizer or snack from Fire Islands: Recipes from Indonesia by Eleanor Ford.
These are super good, crispy and easy to make. I was not confident of getting the crackers into the hot oil properly, but it was really easy—instructions are included below. I recommend doubling this recipe, as the stated amount makes only 6-8 crackers.
Try these, they’re good!
What you’ll need:
- 75g (0.5 cups) raw skin-on peanuts
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1 candlenut or 2 blanched almonds
- 1t coriander seeds
- 0.5t salt
- 60g (0.33 cups) rice flour
- 0.5t crushed black peppercorns
- 2 lime leaves, deveined and finely shredded
- Neutral oil for frying
What to do:
It seems crazy, but cut each peanut in half, lengthwise. This will help the batter stick to them better.
With a mortar and pestle, pound/grind the garlic, nut(s), coriander seeds and salt into a paste. This takes a few minutes, but these ingredients do break down into an actual paste. Mix the paste with the rice flour and gradually add 0.5 cups of water, mixing with a whisk as you add the water. When it’s all mixed into a thin batter, sprinkle in the peanuts, pepper and shredded lime leaves.
Now you’re ready to fry them.
Heat about 1.5 inches of neutral oil in a frypan. I ended up using a 10-inch nonstick pan, which was the perfect size. Heat the oil to between 325 and 340 degrees F. To cook, with a soup spoon (tablespoon size), scoop up some batter and spoon it into the oil, getting the spoon into the oil and sliding it out from under the batter as it separates from the spoon. You can cook 3 to 4 at a time, being careful that they don’t stick together.
Let them fry until they rise to the surface, then carefully turn them over. Let them crisp up, then turn them again for another minute or so. When they’re fully crisped, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon or a fork, letting the crackers drain on a paper towel.
Repeat until all your batter is gone. Let them cool, and enjoy!
These stay fresh for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.
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