Banh Tom (Vietnamese Shrimp & Sweet Potato Fritters)

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes to eat is banh cuon. It’s pretty labor intensive to make, so me and my parents used to go to this place in LA called Banh Cuon Tay Ho. I still remember the sticky tables and the smell of nuoc cham that seemed to always be in the air. This place was known for banh cuon, but they served a lot of other Vietnamese dishes too. This dish Banh Tom was one of those dishes.

What is banh tom?

Banh Tom is a street food from Hanoi. There is actually a famous restaurant that is known for this dish called Banh Tom Ho Tay. Ho Tay is a major river in Hanoi. This dish is a fritter made of sweet potatoes and shrimp fried in a thick batter. Sweet potatoes are julienned into thin match stick length pieces and thrown into a batter with shrimp. They are then served with nuoc cham, lettuce, and assorted herbs. Sometimes, you may even get banh tom with only nuoc cham if it’s served as a snack.

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Potato starch – This helps thicken the batter and provides a good coating on the outside of the shrimp and sweet potatoes. I personally love frying with potato starch, but traditionally, corn starch, rice flour, or tapioca flour is used.
• Baking powder – Gives the batter airiness.
• Turmeric – This gives the batter some color.
• Eggs – Helps to bind the mixture together and adds some richness to the batter.
• Water – Helps to thin out the batter a bit.
• Salt for seasoning
• Shrimp – One of the main components of this dish. You can use any kind of shrimp you want.
• Sweet potatoes – The other main component of this dish. You can get away with using regular potatoes, but it wouldn’t be a traditional recipe. I would stick with the sweet potatoes if you can.

Making my banh tom recipe

First combine all the ingredients through salt in a large bowl. Whisk until a smooth, loose batter forms. Pat dry the shrimp and sweet potatoes. They don’t have to be bone dry, but get as much of the liquid off them as possible. Add them to the bowl. Mix to coat them with the batter.

Now you’re ready to fry! Heat a couple cups of oil to 300 degrees F. You can use a cast iron skillet, stainless steel pan/pot, or dutch oven. Make sure the oil is ~1 inch deep. Next, cover a large plate with paper towels. This is where you will place the fritters after they’re done frying. Using a ladle, scoop and drop the sweet potato fritters into the pan. Fry for 5-10 minutes until crispy on all sides. If the oil doesn’t fully cover the fritter, flip the fritter after 5 minutes. A finished banh tom should be a deep orange color and crispy all over.

When done frying, scoop each fritter onto the plate with the paper towels. The paper towels will soak up any excess oil. Repeat this process until all the fritters are done. Serve with lettuce, mint, and nuoc cham. Other optional herbs and vegetables you can include are cucumbers, carrots, Thai basil, and rau ram (Vietnamese coriander).

Tips on how to make the perfect banh tom?

How big should you cut the sweet potatoes?

The size of the sweet potatoes depends on your preference. I cut them about 1/2 inch thick and 2-3 inches long because I like bigger sweet potato sticks. It is also really labor intensive to cut sweet potatoes into small pieces. However, I found that the longer sweet potato pieces are harder to fry uniformly. The traditional size of the sweet potato pieces is a lot smaller. They are closer to 1/4 an inch and about 1-2 inches long.

Use a ladle to form uniform fritters

This is something I like doing. The ladle helps form uniform fritters. You can also use a spider strainer for this.

What if I want to use a thicker batter?

I personally like a thinner batter because I like to see the orange color of the sweet potatoes. You can definitely use a thicker batter. Add more potato starch or flour to make the batter thicker.

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

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