I’ve been feeding my husband Lulu very healthy food since the beginning of the year. I was thinking he couldn’t take much anymore, so when he came home I decided to give him a reprieve of sorts. I had already steamed some pumpkin that I intended to add to a low cal, healthy canh (Vietnamese soup). As a treat, I took some of the extra diced pumpkin and created dumplings that I deep-fried.
My trick for making fluffy fritters is to replace the standard combination of ice water, flour and baking powder with just cold beer and flour. It gives a nice aroma to the appetizer and pairs well with pumpkin. I also garnished the dish with slices of fried chiles for color.
1. Info for Pumpkin Fritter Recipe
- Cook Time: unavailable
- Total Time: unavailable
- Servings: 6
- Calories: unavailable
2. Ingredients for Pumpkin Fritter Recipe
- 1 pound pumpkin, peeled, steamed and diced (1-½” cubes)
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beer, chilled, as needed
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 2 red Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced
- 1 tablespoon green onions, chopped
- 3 cups peanut oil (or regular vegetable oil), for deep frying, as needed
3. Directions:
- In a bowl, combine the flour, chili powder, turmeric powder and salt.
- Add beer to the dried ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Do NOT over-mix; it’s okay if the batter is still lumpy. It should have the consistency of pancake batter. Allow to rest for about an hour.
- Layer a cooling rack, previously lined with paper towels if you like, on top of a baking sheet (for easy clean-up of the drained oil).
- In a large Dutch oven (or any regular deep-fryer), heat the oil for about 2 minutes over high heat. There should be at least a 2-inch-high level of oil. Wait until the oil is slightly bubbly (not too hot).
- Test the oil by dropping a teaspoon of batter into the hot oil. It should float but not swell.
- Add the fresh red chiles and green onions. Cook until fragrant and transfer to a plate.
- Using a fork, dip a cube of pumpkin into the batter to coat completely. Allow the excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Drizzle an additional teaspoon of batter over the pumpkin to ensure that it adheres well and place in the hot oil. Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the fritters.
- Fry in batches. Make sure the pumpkin fritters don’t touch each other. Lower the heat to medium. Deep fry for 2-3 minutes per batch. Use a splatter screen to prevent the oil from jumping everywhere . Flip each piece using a spider skimmer and cook for about a minute more until golden on both sides.
