A specialty of Hanoi, Bánh tôm or Bánh Tôm Hồ Tây (Shrimp fritters of West Lake), as they are known, are delicious deep fried shrimp and sweet potato fritters.
This recipe is from Hanoi-based Chef Didier Corlou, owner and chef behind La Verticale and the recently-opened Madame Hiên. Chef Corlou, born in Brittany and who first arrived in Vietnam in 1991, is a master of mixing combining French and Vietnamese ingredients and techniques.
Who doesn’t love anything that’s battered and fried? Banh tom is another Vietnamese dish originating from Hanoi and is made of deep fried battered sweet potato and shrimp. Along the Ho Tay (West lake) in Hanoi, you’ll find the original Banh Tom Ho Tay Restaurant as well as numerous other restaurants serving this delicacy. The orange color is from the natural flesh of sweet potato and a little bit of turmeric powder in the batter. Often served as an appetizer, banh tom is commonly wrapped with lettuce, herbs, and pickled vegetables and dipped in nuoc mam cham.
We actually made this appetizer to serve along with the mi quang (Vietnamese turmeric noodles) we made last month. It was a great combination and shows the versatility of turmeric. We also love a little beer in our batter–give that a try!
Sweet Potato Shrimp Fritters (Banh Tom) makes 12
Printable Recipe
2 large sweet potatoes (cut into french fry like slices)
12 large head and shell on shrimp, deveined (you can also use head and shell off as well, but we prefer everything intact for more crunch!)
1 package of tempura batter (several different brands are available in Asian groceries– just follow package instructions–but instead of water, we substitute half water/beer)
Pinch of salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon of tumeric powder
lettuce, herbs such as basil, mint, perilla, Vietnamese balm, pickled carrots and daikon
nuoc mam cham
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