Food products containing low fat and sugar content are known as ‘crackers’ based on their fermentation. They include saltines, cream crackers, soda crackers, and modern snack crackers. Do you wonder if prawn crackers are vegetarian? Here is complete detail about it.
Snack crackers have different colors and flavors, such as vegetable, salty, chicken, fish, rice, masala, paprika, and cheese. Mostly, they look presentable when served with black seeds and sesame.
They are thick in texture but quite crispy and flaky to eat. Some of them are famous globally, like prawn crackers.
Are Prawn Crackers Vegetarian?
Prawn chips are deep-fried umbrella-shaped snacks primarily white in color and are prevalent in the Southeast. East Asian cuisine is famous for its nutritious value and puffiness.
They are traditionally present in Indonesia and Malaysia, but fewer people know whether prawn crackers are vegetarian.
In Indonesia, they are ‘krupuk udang,’ while in Malaysia, they are ‘keropok.’
Prawns are aquatic crustaceans and are salty. These crackers are not vegetarian as they generally contain 21-38% prawn meat.
PRAWN CRACKERS CALORIES
An average portion of prawn crackers (104 grams) contains 608 calories, almost a third of an adult’s daily recommended food intake. One cracker (3g) contains:
- 0.1 g protein
- 1.8 g Carbs (46%)
- 16 calories
- 0.9 (52%) fat contents
It is starchy but provides little other nutrition beyond the energy of these carbohydrates.
WHAT ARE PRAWN CRACKERS MADE OF?
There are only three ingredients in prawn crackers: tapioca starch, water, and prawn meat.
Tapioca comes from the roots of the cassava plant, Manihot esculenta, also known as yuca tuber.
It is a staple food in tropical regions of Africa and Asia and an ingredient of flatbreads.
Tapioca was first cultivated in the north of South America. It is often used to provide texture and moisture with a gluten-free property.
Tapioca is a staple food, and root tuber is toxic to humans if taken raw as it causes coeliac disease and inflammation.
It’s better to cook it thoroughly to get health benefits.
There are different brands of these crunchy crackers.
The ingredients for Tesco and Waitrose Prawn crackers are below:
Ingredients for Tesco prawn crackers are:
- Rapeseed Oil
- Sugar
- Salt
- Tapioca Flour
- Prawn (7%)
Prawns play a limited role in the end product.
Ingredients in Waitrose prawn crackers are:
- Rapeseed Oil
- Sugar
- Salt
- Tapioca Starch
- Pasteurized Egg
- Prawn (21%)
From a health-conscious point of view, prawn crackers are non-vegan. They first contain prawns and, secondly, include eggs, making them double non-vegan.
In addition, prawn crackers are unavailable in supermarkets, but one can get them in a takeaway or restaurant.
Malaysian, Thai, and Indonesian restaurants serve orange prawn crackers that are spicy and not vegetarian.
Some spice-free recipes are available in Chinese takeaways.
Fortunately, few are vegan snacks and vegetarian alternatives to prawn crackers. Deliciously Ella is labeled as vegan with plant-based ingredients like;
- Cassava flour
- Rice flour
- Corn flour
- Chickpea flour
- Wholegrain rice flour
- Beetroot flour
- Fried rosemary
Tesco Thai spicy cracker
Another alternative is the Tesco Thai spicy cracker.
The list includes:
- cassava starch
- rapeseed oil
- sugar
- leek
- red chili
- salt
- white pepper extract
- ginger powder
- turmeric powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- paprika carrot, and
- black pepper extracts
This vegan-friendly snack is a mixture of three different crackers. One bag of 60 grams gives 96kcal comprising 4.3g fat (6%) with 2.1g sugar and 0.4g salt.
Easy Bean is also a vegan-friendly snack; its 100% natural ingredients are;
- Red lentil flour
- Rice flour
- Maize flour
- Oatmeal (gluten-free)
- Fava bean flour
- Rapeseed oil
- Blue poppy seed
These are handmade crackers that contain an assortment of flours.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWN CRACKERS?
Prawn crackers can easily be made in restaurants and at home using three ingredients.
Ingredients are:
- 500g tapioca flour,
- 500g prawns,
- one teaspoon salt to taste,
- oil for frying,
- one teaspoon baking powder and,
- optional spices like ginger, pepper, etc.
The method is given below:
- Forming the dough: The first step is to clean the prawns with water, peel them, and make a paste from this. Add equal amounts of tapioca starch and processed prawn meat (or shrimp) in a food processor. Add a little salt and water; mixing baking soda will help produce puffiness in crackers.
Additional seasoning is optional. (If the dough is dry, add water or a little flour or prawn paste) Take the dough and, with light hands, turn it into a log- shape.
Detailed Instructions:
- Cooking the dough: Steam the log-shaped dough into a bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper. After one hour, the color of the dough changes and turns into a rubbery texture.
- Slicing the crackers: Allow the logs to cool down, then cut the crackers evenly and gently with a knife.
- Drying the crackers: Slices of crackers are good to dry in the sun or an oven at low heat. So that they can be stored for later purposes.
- Frying the crackers: The last step is to fry these dried disks in vegetable oil at 180ºC. The crackers will puff up and fold themselves before opening up completely. They will start to float and enlarge in size with a sizzling voice and a nice white color. They can be removed from the oil by using a strainer or tongs.
After frying, put them on a plate lined with tissue or paper towels. This will help absorb any excess oil. Once cooled, they are ready to serve; some recipes also include colors to make them attractive.
Many varieties of prawn crackers can be prepared in a microwave oven (baking), in which sliced discs can be cooked in a minute.
They expand similarly but must be consumed within hours before they lose their crispiness. This method is ideal for vegetarians as the crackers are not oily.
So, did you get the answer to the question, are prawn crackers vegetarian?
CONCLUSION
Prawn crackers are not vegetarian. Only the homemade prawn crackers are vegan-friendly. Some vegetarian recipes include easy-peasy crackers, which are gluten-free, and the end product is crunchy with a touch of rosemary and garlic spices.
Fake twins taste like real krupuk, as rice paper curls resemble prawn crackers. Vegetarians need to check the ingredient labels of their favorite brands before buying.
All brands have 99% prawns in them. Instead of looking out for vegan-friendly and gluten-free recipes in restaurants and takeaways, enjoying a snack with afternoon tea is necessary by making it home.
In the UK, many people probably think of prawn crackers as associated with Chinese food, but they originated in Indonesia. This old concept of about hundreds of years is also a part of South America. Seafood, including fish, shrimp, and crab lobsters, are sea animals and are not vegetarian.
Prawn crackers are low in fiber, unlike the other crisps. It’s a keto-friendly food. Weight-conscious people must avoid them.
FAQs
Q. Are prawn crackers gluten-free?
Prawn crackers made in tapioca starch or coated in gluten-free potato, cornflour, rice flour, and gram flour are all safe for a vegan. If the seasoning includes soy (oyster sauce and hoisin sauce) cheese and wheat flour coating, they contain gluten.
Prawn crackers are gluten-free if they are fried separately in oil. But if fried in the same contaminated oil as battered fish, wheat noodles, and soy sauce, they are not ideal for vegans, as cross-contamination makes them unsuitable.
‘Tesco Thai spicy cracker mix’ is not prawn crackers but is vegan-friendly and served in Thai restaurants.
Q. Are takeaway prawn crackers vegetarian?
There are many different types of prawn crackers, including bland, spice-free versions typical in Chinese takeaways, and are not typically vegetarian because of the inclusion of eggs and wheat flour coating.
Professional uncooked prawn crackers from Superfoods Express and Kang Mei (Vietnamese) prawn crackers from Golden Swan contain flavor enhancers (E621) in their ingredients list. Logically, they are not vegetarian or vegan.
Q. Can vegetarians eat prawn crackers?
Traditionally speaking, these crunchy prawn crackers are not vegan. No commercially vegan prawns are available on the market, but many cocktail crisps, including Walkers.
They do not contain any prawns and can be eaten by vegetarians, although product labeling mentions the use of milk in making crackers, similar to Mackie’s prawn cocktail crisps. Prawn substitute is a synthetic compound to replace the flavor. Even the Waitrose and Tesco prawn crackers are not vegetarian, as ingredients include sugar and the prawn itself.
Q. Are Chinese prawn crackers vegetarian?
Chinese prawn crackers are not vegetarian. They are also not vegan-friendly. Including eggs and coating whole grain wheat flour make them less ideal for vegetarians. The portion of prawn crackers from a Chinese takeaway has a fat content not appreciated by vegetarians.
Q. How long do prawn crackers last?
The fried prawn crackers must be stored in an airtight container for up to three months without adding preservatives and for nine months with added preservatives.