It was raining that morning so I could not do any gardening. I’ve been wanting to make these cucur (fritters) ever since I saw the post (and video) in Merryn’s blog so while everyone else in the house was sleeping, I thought I would do that and surprise them when they woke up with a delightful breakfast.
I didn’t follow the recipe 100% and used these ingredients…
…instead – a bit of thinly-sliced French beans, chopped spring onions from my garden. some bubuk (dried shrimps). two shallots and one chili, thinly sliced and some seasoning plus salt and pepper.
There wasn’t enough flour left in the container, less than 2 cups but I decided to go ahead anyway. I added all the aforementioned ingredients and a cup of water and mixed everything together well…
It looked rather dry so I added a little bit more water…
…and I was ready to start frying.
I found that the fritters did not turn golden brown and were rather pale looking…
…and even though it tasted all right, the texture was all wrong! It was dense and rubbery, a little on the tough side. To say that I was so so so disappointed would be an understatement.
I had a good mind to just throw everything but I decided to let the expert see and taste and seek her advice as to what went wrong. Too much flour perhaps, she said – well, I did mention earlier that there wasn’t enough in the container and I had to make do with less.
I said perhaps it wasn’t wheat flour – they never label anything that they stuff in the containers so God knows what is in each of them (and perhaps they do not know themselves either) and how long it has been there – but no, she insisted it was. Perhaps I shouldn’t have added that extra bit of water…but of course, I made NO mention of that! What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her! Hehehehehe!!!
Then she went on and on about how she would blend all the added ingredients before mixing with the batter…bla…bla…bla…so in the end, I just said that next time, I would just wait for her to make and I would just eat. Total silence!
Well, one thing’s for sure, I would never attempt to make any cucur ever again, thank you very much!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Youre correct adding water will make it more crispy, hence tempura is crispy because its quite runny. Another secret to it is use ice cold water and a bit of cornstarch to give it an extra crunch
Oh? That must be it, too much water. Maybe I can try again someday.
I usually add rice flour to plain flour (ratio 0.5 : 1) & use cold water to mix the batter. You can slice carrots & big onion thinly for the added crunch.
Ok, thanks.
There is always a first time. Practice makes perfect. From the picture, the cucur looks good. Lazy people like me, I would just buy the premix cucur flour (Adabi brand) , mixed with water and fry. Taste just as good.
Ahhhh!!!! I think my girl did do that once. Yes, I shall do the same from now on, no need to go through all the trouble and end up disappointed some more. So pissed off.
From your photo it looks like your batter needed more water. Can I offer you a tip? The batter should be thick but be able to flow (like lava hah..hah…) when you tip the bowl. If it doesn’t move at all – too dry. It should also not be too runny.
More water? Gee! And I thought I added too much.
Haha. This is one of the recipes that we have to agak-agak until our ancestors whisper in our ears that what we put in is enough. My mom taught me, she never tell me the measurements as well coz she told me to agak-agak just like how her mother taught her. So when I make this, I keep my ear open for my late grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother to tell me, “Dah cukup… boleh dah” 😀
Hmmmm….and I religiously followed the measurements in your recipe…except that I did not have enough flour!
Wahhh… I didn’t know these are hard to cook too… cos I seldom fry stuff at home… but nice to eat, surely! Never mind, next time just sit back and relax… so nice to have someone to cook for you instead… hahaha..
Yes, come back and see tomorrow’s post!
It still looked pretty good though.
I would agree…as far as that goes. LOL!!!
As i don’t cook so can’t give you any advice or tip but good that you got your answers from the other bloggers, i thought i would enjoy rubbery texture though.
Yet to try again, not so soon, I guess.
Well, in the end the problem was easily solved on your part. Ha ha.
Not really. I still don;t know where I went wrong…and I don’t think I would want to try again. Will just go out and buy when I feel like eating this.