For non-Filipinos, kangkong is swamp (or water) spinach. Crispy kangkong is an appetizer made by deep-frying batter-coated kangkong leaves. It might sound simple but making the batter stick to the leaves can be tricky. Tried it once, haven’t dared again — yet. Obviously, I didn’t cook the crispy kangkong that you see here. I took the photo at the birthday party of an uncle-in-law last year.
i was hoping you would have any ideas on cooking this one..i love kangkong! i would like to introduce my daughter to this kind of veggies as starters so she would eat other varieties as well..any way mang inasal, (fast food) also have this on their menu as an appetizer..you should try it..
more power to you ms connie your site is on my favorite list..comes in handy any time in need to update my cooking skills..god bless
One of these days, I’ll give it another try.
Is it necessary to apply batter to it? I once ate deep fried spinach a restaurant back there and it was delicious. It was simply deep fried – no batter.
Have you tried the Japanese style batter?
The Japanese batter is just ice, water and flour. The vegetables are quickly dipped in it and straight into the hot oil. I’ve not tried it myself (I’m not fond of tempura) but have seen it done on cooking shows. Maybe this is the technique used in the photo you show here.
That’s how it’s done, really. Ice, water and flour. But it isn’t that simple making the batter stick.
Re batterless crispy kangkong: and they didn’t shrivel?
I thought about that, but if the heat of the oil is just right, won’t it seal in the moisture? Why didn’t any of the spinach I tried shrivel. I guess we won’t know till we give it a try.. Hmm you are making this intriguing. I feel like attempting an experiment this weekend.
Haha let us know how it turns out, won’t you?
Have you tried kangkong with evaporated milk? Let me know if you’re interested.
Interested.
Try corn starch, and make the batter slightly thicker. It will stick better. Try it with cauliflower too, it’s good (served in Buddhist temples here, in lieu of animal-based tempuras…)
Cauliflower has grooves. Easier for the batter to stick.
This is my recipe but instead I fry them like ukoy style. It takes a lot of time cooking kangkong individually.
1 cup plain flour
1.5 cup cornflour
1 egg
1 cup water
salt/pepper to taste
simply grab a bunch of kangkong and deep it into your batter and deep fry…All my friends loved it!
Try this (a twist of the usual breading process): dry the spinach with paper towels and then dust with flour. Dredge each leaf through a beaten egg I (using several eggs) and then bread with Japanese fine panko bread crumbs. If you have trouble finding panko in your local food store, try WalMart. Here in Hilo, Hawaii, there are many Oriental stores with panko, but WalMart sells a small bag for $1.29 (and lasts a long time). I have stupped using the usual bread crumbs for fying as the panko is beautiful and make for much better eye appeal.
i tried it before.. the crispy kangkong is very nice to me. hehe!.. i wish i can pack them and replace to my junk foods..