The Thai restaurant near our San Francisco apartment had a fantastic dish called “koong tod.” We ordered it about once every other week or so, and I really miss it now that we’re in Tokyo. I haven’t seen it in any of the Thai restaurants here, so I thought I would recreate it myself.
While it may not be the healthiest recipe, it’s worth the calories. The crunchy fried wonton is a great textural contrast to the tender, juicy shrimp. Dip them in the spicy/sweet Thai chili sauce for a tasty appetizer.
If you’re a follower of A&C, you might have noticed that I really, really love Thai food. At this point, you could put together a Thai dinner party from our site! Start with this koong tod recipe and a mango & coconut cocktail, then move onto the rich and spicy khao soi gai chicken curry with a side of Thai cucumber salad. Then finish with mango sorbet and coconut chips for dessert!
This recipe calls for Thai chilis, which tend to come in intimidatingly large quantities. Don’t worry, though, just wash and freeze them and pull out a few whenever you need them. If you can’t find Thai chilis, try substituting a serrano chili.
And one quick note about working with wonton wrappers: they can dry out really quickly and they become difficult to work with. Use 1 at a time, and keep the others covered with a damp paper towel or tea towel until you need them.
Thai Fried Wonton Wrapped Shrimp (Koong Tod)
serves 3-4 as an appetizer
Ingredients:
12 shrimp, peeled and cleaned but tails still attached (the tails make a great little handle!)
15 wonton wrappers (I used ones that were 15 cm square, but my shrimp were also enormous. Use whatever you can find; I have a feeling I may have a few more options available in my local grocery store than most people!)
egg wash (1 egg + 2 tablespoons of water, beaten)
neutral oil for frying
For the marinade:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons palm sugar (can substitute brown sugar, light or dark)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Thai chili, finely chopped (WARNING: these suckers are HOT. Do not touch your face, especially your eyes or nose, while handling.)
For serving: Thai sweet red chili sauce (I used store-bought, but you could make your own if you’re feeling motivated.)
1. In order to get the shrimp to lie as flat as possible, cut a slit down the belly (the inside of the curl). Mine didn’t want to straighten up very much because they were MASSIVE, but smaller ones should get pretty flat.
2. Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and refrigerate for 10-30 minutes. You don’t want to marinate them too long or they will be really salty.
3. Put your oil in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Test after about 5 minutes by dropping a wonton wrapper into the oil. If it becomes golden brown after frying for about 1 minute, the oil is ready.
4. Place 1 wonton wrapper on a work surface. Brush a light layer of egg wash over the wonton.
5. Place your shrimp about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the wonton, with the tail end hanging off the end of the wrapper. Like this:
6. Fold the wrapper in half over the shrimp, like it’s between the pages of a book.
7. Roll the wrapper around the shrimp to wrap it up tightly.
Note: depending on the size of your shrimp and the size of your wrappers, this particular method may not work for you. Don’t worry, just find a way that works for you, they’ll still be delicious!
8. Working in small batches, fry the shrimp in the oil. They should take 1-2 minutes per side. When the wrapper is golden-brown and crisp, they are done. Pull out and drain on a paper towel.
9. I would suggest serving these right away, but if you make them ahead of time you can keep them warm in a 160 degree oven until you’re ready to serve them. Serve with the sweet red chili sauce.
