A Guide to Shrimp Crackers: How to Buy & Fry Indo and Viet Styles

Shrimp crackers, aka shrimp chips, are the Southeast Asian equivalent of the American potato chip. Vietnamese speakers know them as bánh phồng tôm and Bahasa Indonesian speakers call them krupuk udang. People from other Southeast Asian cultures enjoy them too. How are shrimp crackers made? Pretty simply. You mix a dough of primarily ground shrimp and tapioca starch, steam it, slice it, and set the slices out in the hot sun to dry. The hard crackers are then deep-fried in oil, puffing and expanding to about twice their original size. Good shrimp crackers capture the essence of shrimpy flavor.

Most cooks buy the dry crackers, rather than make them. The frying is fast and neither messy nor oily. Also, you can fry the crackers hours in advance, making a bowl of the crunchy, rich snack an easy accompaniment to cocktails. When used more like a cracker, they're great for scooping up Vietnamese salads called gỏi. In this post, I cover how to select good Indonesian krupuk udang and Vietnamese bánh phồng tôm, plus how to fry how to fry shrimp crackers. There's a how-to video, as well.

How to buy krupuk udang and bánh phồng tôm

As with all snack foods, not all shrimp crackers and shrimp chips are equal. The inexpensive colorful ones sold in boxes are pretty but not much else. When you shop for them, you'll basically have two choices -- Indonesian and/or Vietnamese shrimp crackers.

Indonesian krupuk udang: Indonesian shrimp chips, called krupuk udang, are consistently good and packed with real shrimp flavor. I like the larger chips for easy frying, as you'll see in the video below. Indonesian krupuk (kurupuk) udang are my go-to; look for them labeled as "shrimp crackers" and "bánh quy tôm" for Vietnamese speakers. Indonesian producers make fish and garlic krupuk, too.

Vietnamee bánh phồng tôm: Dried shrimp crackers imported from Vietnam, labeled as "bánh phồng tôm" are getting steadily better. They're often produced in Sa Dec, a city known for its tasty shrimp. That said, Vietnamese shrimp crackers tend to a milder shrimp flavor than the Indonesian kind. I introduced my mom to Indo krupuk udang and she's never gone back to the Viet shrimp crackers.

Where to buy shrimp crackers? Shrimp crackers are sold at East Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Look in the Indonesian section for krupuk. Vietnamese bánh phồng tôm may be nearby too. Or, you can purchase the crackers here.

How to fry shrimp crackers (krupuk udang and bánh phồng tôm)

Watch our step-by-step video and follow these tips for the perfect crunch! Frying shrimp crackers in oil is tastiest for bringing out the crunch and shrimp flavor. It's thrilling but happens fast. Watch this short video to get all my tricks. If you buy Vietnamese bánh phồng tôm, fry them up the same way, though see the recipe below to guide the size of your batches.

What to eat with your shrimp crackers and chips?

There are so many things! The fried shrimp crackers add a richness to lean salads. Start simple with a tofu "egg" salad, or do something fun like serve the crackers with this grapefruit and shrimp salad or ginger chicken salad.

Instead of fried wonton chips, serve the fried crackers with my ginger salmon poke or tofu poke. It's the natural pairing for my herbacious Vietnamese fish salad (gỏi cá), too. The poke and fish salad are Pass the Fish Sauce newsletter recipes.

Let me know how you enjoy the crackers! And what brands you're buying and frying.

Print Recipe

Fried Shrimp Chips (Shrimp Crackers, Bánh Phồng Tôm, Krupuk Udang)

Eat the crackers the day you fry them or keep in an airtight container or paper bag overnight (if humidity is low). Fry a lot because people gobble them up!

Ingredients

• Dried shrimp chips or shrimp crackers
• Neutral oil for deep-frying such as canola, peanut, or rice bran

Instructions

• Line a large plate with paper towels and place next to the stove. Pour oil to a depth of ¾ to 1 inch (2 to 2.5cm) into a wok or a Dutch oven and heat over medium heat to 325 to 350°F on a deep-frying thermometer. (If you don't have a thermometer, stand a dry bamboo chopstick in the oil; if small bubbles immediately gather on the surface around the chopstick, the oil is ready.)
• For each batch, drop in 1 big one or 3 to 5 small chips, keeping in mind that they will double in size. If you fry too many at a time, they will cook unevenly. Each will sink to the bottom, start to bubble, maybe curl, and then expand before rising to the top, where it will finish cooking. All of this happens in 4 to 5 seconds, so don't turn away. Once the chips float to the top, let them fry for only a few seconds longer. Don't let them brown or their delicate flavor will vanish. Using a skimmer, transfer the chips to the towel-lined plate to drain. This is fast-paced frying, so regulate the heat and adjust the size of your batches so that you are working at a comfortable speed. Eat at room temperature.