PRAWN BALLS

INGREDIENTS

500g of prawns, shelled, deveined and minced (about 1.5kg of prawns, shells intact, will yield 500g of prawn meat)

180g fish meat

100g pork fat, finely diced

Five or six water chestnuts, finely diced

100g white onion, finely diced

Three to four stalks of spring onion, finely chopped

2 Tbs egg white (about 2 eggs' whites)

About 4Tbs tapioca flour, add more if necessary

1 to 2tsp sugar

1 Tbs sesame oil

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Cooking oil for frying

TO SERVE

Thai sweet chilli sauce

Sweet flour sauce

METHOD

1. Wash, shell and devein the prawns. Chop coarsely and mince only slightly. The meat should not be too fine - it should still have some texture to it. Set aside.

2. Fillet a white fish, preferably a yellowtail. Place the fillet, flesh-side up, skin-side down and, using a spoon, scrape the meat off. Repeat for the other fillet and also scrape off any meat left on the centre bone. Remove any bones or scales from the fish meat. Mince it till fine and smooth. Set aside. Alternatively, you may purchase raw fish meat from the wet market (at a fishball stall), but be sure to reduce the amount of salt should you use this option, as most pre-prepared fish meat already contains salt.

3. In a clean bowl, add minced prawns, fish meat, pork fat, waterchestnut, onion, spring onion, egg white, tapioca flour and seasoning.

4. Mix well and add more tapioca flour if the mixture is too wet. The mixture should form a sticky paste.

5. Using a spatula or your hands, take handfuls of the mixture and throw it back into the bowl with some elbow grease. Repeat this process 10 to 15 times for each handful. This helps to improve the mixture's elasticity, which will, in turn, make the prawn balls more bouncy. You may want to use a basin in order to contain the mess.

6. In a pan, heat oil on high. Reduce the heat to medium when the oil is hot. To find out if the oil is hot enough, place a chopstick in the pan, in an upright position. Small bubbles should immediately form around the part of the chopstick that is in contact with the oil.

7. Drop round spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil and fry for two to three minutes, until golden brown. You may use a small ice-cream scoop (right) or melon baller to form the balls. Each ball should be bite-sized, about 2cm in diameter.

8. When the balls are golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels.

9. If being served as an appetiser or snack, accompany with dipping sauces such as Thai sweet chilli and sweet flour sauce.

Makes about 30 prawn balls, depending on the size.