Let’s make Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring! Certainly one of the best yam basket recipe to try: Stir fried juicy prawns with walnuts in an appetising sweet sour sauce, served in a wonderfully crispy yam basket. This impressive chinese restaurant dish is actually easier to make than you think. So let’s start cooking!
Watch How To Make Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring (Recipe Video)
Let’s Make Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring!
Crispy Yam Ring, a very popular Chinese dish is also known as yam basket, taro basket, Fatt Putt (佛钵) and also sometimes known as prosperity basket. Yam Ring is a Cantonese-style dish consisting of a deep-fried ring of mashed fluffy taro filled with separately stir-fried ingredients.
This impressive dish is highly requested in most Chinese restaurants that serve this dish, especially so when it is the season for celebrations like the Chinese New Year, birthdays and other special occasions. It can be served as a vegetarian dish with ingredients like carrots, mushrooms, young lotus root and nuts. Otherwise, you can practically fill anything you fancy inside the yam ring.
Today I am making Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring: yam ring filled with stir fried prawns and walnuts in a mouthwatering sweet and sour sauce 😊. Also refer to my earlier Kung Pao Crispy Yam Basket video filled with Chicken Kung Pao filling.
What is Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring?
This is a Chinese-style dish consisting of a deep-fried ring made of mashed taro, filled with separately stir-fried sweet and sour prawns filling. The yam ring is crispy on the outside and soft inside; the centre of the ring is filled to the brim with stir-fried prawns, vegetables, pineapple and walnuts in a mouthwatering sweet and sour sauce.
How To Make Crispy Yam Ring
Ingredients Needed To Make Yam Ring
Yam
Wheat starch
Shortening
Baking powder
Seasonings (Salt, sugar, ground white pepper, five spice powder, sesame oil)
Making Yam Ring
First, peel and slice yam into pieces, steam and then mash into a paste.
In another bowl, mix boiling water into wheat starch and form into dough. Knead in the wheat starch mixture into the yam paste. (This helps to hold the yam paste together).
Then season the yam paste mixture.
Lastly, add in shortening and mix into a non sticky dough. (The shortening helps to create the honeycomb texture on the yam ring).
Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour to firm up the dough.
Form the chilled yam dough into yam rings.
Deep Fry Yam Ring
First fry some vermicelli for garnishing. Place on serving plate.
Then heat up the oil again over medium heat. Deep fry yam ring till golden brown and crispy. Remove, drain and place on top of the fried vermicelli.
How To Make Sweet And Sour Prawns Filling For Yam Ring
Ingredients Needed To Make Sweet And Sour Filling
Prawns
Walnuts
Red Chilli
Green Capsicum (Bell Pepper)
Pineapple
For Sauce: Tomato Sauce, Chilli Sauce, Sugar, Light Soy Sauce, Chinese Rice Vinegar, Cornstarch Solution
Simple Steps To Make The Filling
Preheat oil in wok and stir fry briskly prawns, red chilli, capsicum, pineapple and walnuts till fragrant.
Add in the sauce mixture, toss quickly over high heat till the sauce is almost absorbed.
Dish up and place the filling in the centre of the yam ring.
Important Tips When Making The Perfect Yam Ring
How to choose a yam that is suitable for making yam ring? Any type of yam can be used to make yam ring. Choose Thai yam or Klang yam with a big body. Make a cut at the end to check if the yam is powdery. This will ensure the yam is fluffy and has a good texture.
The yam must not contain a lot of water. Otherwise it is not suitable to make yam ring.
It’s important to use hot boiling water to mix into the wheat starch so the wheat starch can be cooked before mixing it into the yam to make the yam dough.
Use a sieve or bamboo holder to hold the yam ring when you are frying the yam ring. This will prevent the yam ring from sticking to the bottom of the wok.
The oil temperature must be just right before deep frying to ensure the yam ring crisp on the outside and is fluffy on the inside.
To test if oil temperature is ready, pinch a piece of the yam dough and drop into the oil. If it disintegrates, the oil is not hot enough. If it does not spread at all, the oil is too hot. If it floats to the top, the oil is just right and you can begin to deep fry the yam ring.
Make sure to use enough oil to totally submerge the yam ring when deep frying. Oil must completely cover the yam ring’s surface. This will enable the whole yam ring to crisp evenly.
It is recommended to use oil with a high smoke point to deep fry the yam ring. You can use peanut oil or palm oil.
Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring (Yam Basket) 核桃虾球芋头圈
Let's make Walnut Prawns Crispy Yam Ring! This is certainly one of the best yam basket (Fatt Putt) recipe to try. Stir fried juicy prawns with walnuts in an appetising sweet sour sauce, served in a wonderfully crispy yam basket. Just delicious!
1tbspcornstarch solution, 1 tbsp water + 1 tsp cornstarch
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Instructions
Prepare ingredients to make yam ring.
Also have ready seasonings for the yam dough.
Peel the yam and cut them into thin slices. Briefly wash, drain and arrange on steaming tray. Place into prepared steamer.
Steam over high heat for 20 to 25 mins till soft. Test for doneness by using a chopstick or fork. Then transfer onto a mixing bowl.
Mash the cooked yam while still hot with a potato masher and form into a yam dough.
In a separate mixing bowl, add in wheat starch. Slowly pour in boiling water, stirring continuosly until all the water in incorporated. Knead until a wheat starch paste is formed. The texture should be smooth and soft. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Mix wheat starch paste into the yam paste.Then add salt, ground pepper, sugar and five-spice powder. Mix well together.
Add in shortening and knead the mixture into a dough. The dough is ready when it doesn't stick to your hands. Divide the yam dough into 2 round portions. Wrap in cling wrap and leave in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is semi-solid so its easier to handle. Then we are ready to shape the yam paste dough into a ring!
Making Yam Ring:
To do this, first remove the cling wrap from the chilled yam dough. Dust your hand with a little wheat starch. Just push your thumb into the middle of the round yam paste on both sides of the round yam dough. Then gently using your fingers, press and push the hole in the middle outwards to shape into a ring. Just sprinkle some wheat starch if the yam paste starts to stick to your finger.
Another method to form the yam basket is to gently shape the yam dough into a long log. Then flatten the surface and join the two ends to form into a ring. Sprinkle with some wheat starch or flour on the work surface or yam dough if the yam sticks to your finger. And we are ready to fry the yam basket!
Frying Yam Ring:
Heat up a pot/wok of cooking oil to deep fry the yam ring using medium heat. The height of the oil used has to fully cover the height of the yam basket. To test if the oil is sufficiently hot, drop a piece of yam dough into the oil. If it stays at the bottom of the oil for a second before floating to the top, the oil is ready for frying.
First fry some vermicelli for garnishing. When oil is hot enough, put the vermicelli in and immediately remove the vermicelli from the oil once they puff up and turn off the heat. Place on serving plate.
Then heat up the oil again over medium heat. Carefully place the yam basket onto a big ladle with holes and fully submerge it into the hot oil. Deep fried till golden brown and crispy. Increase the heat when about done and remove from oil. Drain and place on top of the fried vermicelli. And we are ready to stir fry ingredients to be placed inside the yam ring!
Stir Fry Filling:
Have ready all ingredients needed for the yam ring filling.
Also prepare the sauce for the filling.
First, deskin and devein the prawns, rinse and set aside. Then pan dry some walnuts till golden brown and fragrant. Also, cut a red chilli and half a green capsicum into thick pieces. Lastly mix well all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. And we are ready to fry the filling.
Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a preheated wok. Add in the prawns and stir fry till it turns pink.
Then add in the rest of the filling ingredients and stir fry briskly. Add in the sauce mixture, toss quickly over high heat till the sauce is almost absorbed. And we are done!
Assemble Yam Ring:
Place the yam basket on top of the crispy rice vermicelli. Fill the middle of yam ring with the prawn filling and walnuts. Serve immediately and Enjoy!
Choose a yam that does not contain a lot of water. Otherwise it will not be suitable to make the yam ring. Choose yam that is of bigger size. Discard the bottom part of yam as it will be a bit tough.
It’s important to use hot boiling water to mix into the wheat starch so the wheat starch can be cooked before mixing it into the yam to make the yam dough.
Try to ensure the thickness of the yam ring is about the same all around.
Put the yam basket on a big ladle with holes before deep frying as this can prevent the bottom of the yam ring from getting burnt.
To make the perfect yam basket, the temperature of the oil is the key to success. You can either test using a wooden chopstick or dropping a bit of yam dough into the oil. When oil is ready, bubbles will appear around the chopstick. The yam dough will float to the surface without disintegrating if oil is ready.
Angie Liew (known as Huang) has a strong love for cooking from a young age. Being a self taught chef, she focuses on improving cooking recipes, simplifying and documenting cooking methods so that her great home cooked dishes can be served and shared among family and friends.
Prepare ingredients to make yam ring.
Also have ready seasonings for the yam dough.
Peel the yam and cut them into thin slices. Briefly wash, drain and arrange on steaming tray. Place into prepared steamer.
Steam over high heat for 20 to 25 mins till soft. Test for doneness by using a chopstick or fork. Then transfer onto a mixing bowl.
Mash the cooked yam while still hot with a potato masher and form into a yam dough.
In a separate mixing bowl, add in wheat starch. Slowly pour in boiling water, stirring continuosly until all the water in incorporated. Knead until a wheat starch paste is formed. The texture should be smooth and soft. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Mix wheat starch paste into the yam paste.Then add salt, ground pepper, sugar and five-spice powder. Mix well together.
Add in shortening and knead the mixture into a dough. The dough is ready when it doesn't stick to your hands. Divide the yam dough into 2 round portions. Wrap in cling wrap and leave in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until it is semi-solid so its easier to handle. Then we are ready to shape the yam paste dough into a ring!
To do this, first remove the cling wrap from the chilled yam dough. Dust your hand with a little wheat starch. Just push your thumb into the middle of the round yam paste on both sides of the round yam dough. Then gently using your fingers, press and push the hole in the middle outwards to shape into a ring. Just sprinkle some wheat starch if the yam paste starts to stick to your finger.
Another method to form the yam basket is to gently shape the yam dough into a long log. Then flatten the surface and join the two ends to form into a ring. Sprinkle with some wheat starch or flour on the work surface or yam dough if the yam sticks to your finger. And we are ready to fry the yam basket!
Heat up a pot/wok of cooking oil to deep fry the yam ring using medium heat. The height of the oil used has to fully cover the height of the yam basket. To test if the oil is sufficiently hot, drop a piece of yam dough into the oil. If it stays at the bottom of the oil for a second before floating to the top, the oil is ready for frying.
First fry some vermicelli for garnishing. When oil is hot enough, put the vermicelli in and immediately remove the vermicelli from the oil once they puff up and turn off the heat. Place on serving plate.
Then heat up the oil again over medium heat. Carefully place the yam basket onto a big ladle with holes and fully submerge it into the hot oil. Deep fried till golden brown and crispy. Increase the heat when about done and remove from oil. Drain and place on top of the fried vermicelli. And we are ready to stir fry ingredients to be placed inside the yam ring!
Have ready all ingredients needed for the yam ring filling.
Also prepare the sauce for the filling.
First, deskin and devein the prawns, rinse and set aside. Then pan dry some walnuts till golden brown and fragrant. Also, cut a red chilli and half a green capsicum into thick pieces. Lastly mix well all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. And we are ready to fry the filling.
Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a preheated wok. Add in the prawns and stir fry till it turns pink.
Then add in the rest of the filling ingredients and stir fry briskly. Add in the sauce mixture, toss quickly over high heat till the sauce is almost absorbed. And we are done!
Place the yam basket on top of the crispy rice vermicelli. Fill the middle of yam ring with the prawn filling and walnuts. Serve immediately and Enjoy!