How to Make Ukoy

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[Tom] Make sure you guys get my good side, all right?

So what I have here is a mixture of

sweet potatoes, carrots,

that's been salted for 30 minutes,

and now for 30 minutes we rinse out the salt.

That way we make sure it can be crunchier.

I also have cilantro, cornstarch, and our Ukoy batter,

which is fish sauce, cornstarch, and club soda.

Oscar, can I get the ...

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Just gonna mix in some cilantro.

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Thank you Oscar.

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The batter.

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Mix it together.

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So right now it's still a little thin.

I'm gonna add

cornstarch to thicken it.

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The consistency I'm looking for is,

a little less thick than a slurry.

So now I have some fresh wad of shrimp, that's head on.

And I'm gonna take a large wok spoon,

say about like, six pieces.

And then I top it off with the rest of the mixture.

And then I'm gonna drop it in the fryer.

This is 335 degree oil,

and then I start spreading it out.

As soon as it's happening you got to like,

separate all the tiny pieces.

So that way you get like a really crunchy texture.

You start kinda like forming a circle.

(oil sizzles)

As soon as I get a nice round shape like this,

I'm gonna lift it up,

and I'm gonna feel the top, see if it's crunchy,

if it's not I'll just throw it back down.

So about, like, a minute, a minute and a half.

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All right.

It's about ready.

I wanna top it off with a little bit of sea salt

and whatever shrimp I have left.

It's a Filipino street food.

I mean, the great thing about this dish,

is that you can use your hands.

I like to take a really nice big piece

and just dip it in here. And just ...

I mean, it's salty, it's sour,

it's spicy, it's savory.

You get the nice sweetness of the shrimp here,

especially from the heads.

It's delicious.

I mean what more can you want?

I'm chef Tom Cunanan, and we're at Bad Saint.