Prawn Balls (With Sweet And Sour Sauce)

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Chinese Takeaway Prawn Balls

Delicious, tender and oh so tasty! These irresistible prawn balls taste delicious, and I serve them with a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Let’s get cooking…

Marinated prawns, coated in a simple batter, then fried until beautifully golden and crispy. Are you drooling yet? Because I am!

When I tell you I enjoyed every single minute eating these prawn balls, I’m not even joking! They are very easy to make, the taste is irresistible, and the batter is fluffy and crispy all at the same time.

I’ve made Chinese chicken balls and pork balls before, and just like this recipe, the batter and sweet and sour sauce ingredients are the same. However, the different fillings make them all worth trying!

Recipe Ingredients

Below are the ingredients I used to make this recipe:

• Raw King Prawns: I peeled and cleaned the prawns before starting this recipe, you can buy them prepped already or you can do this manually. Occasionally, I like to use jumbo king prawns as they make larger ball sizes.

• Seasonings: The prawns are seasoned with salt, white pepper and a splash of Shaoxing cooking wine. After being seasoned the prawns are coated with self-raising flour.

• Batter: To make the batter I mix self-raising flour, water and salt together. This mix creates a thick batter that’s tender and golden. I also like to add a tablespoon of vegetable oil as it makes the prawn balls slightly shiny when fried.
• Sweet And Sour Sauce: I find the best copycat sweet and sour sauce is made by reducing a mixture of water, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, pineapple juice and cornflour over a medium to high heat until the sauce has thickened.

The sauce comes out quite bright like an authentic Chinese takeaway sweet and sour sauce and it’s the perfect match for fried prawn balls.

How To Make Prawn Balls

Here’s a summary of how I make Chinese takeaway prawn balls. You can get the full recipe instructions on the recipe card below:

Step One:

I start by placing prawns into a mixing bowl followed by the marinade ingredients, and I mix everything together. Then I mix in two tablespoons of self-raising flour.

Step Two:

In a large mixing bowl, I add self-raising flour and salt and mix everything together. Then I pour water into the bowl and mix again. I leave the batter to rest for 5 minutes (helps to remove lumps) and then I add a teaspoon of vegetable oil and mix together.

Step Three:

Oil is added to a wok heated over a medium heat and I place a handful of prawns at a time into the batter to coat them.

Step Four:

The coated prawns are placed into the oil and I fry them for 4 minutes or until the batter is golden. Cooked prawn balls will float to the top, if they’re not floating cook for an extra minute.

Step Five:

To make the sweet and sour sauce, I place water, sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice and vinegar into a pan that’s heated over a medium to high heat.

After 2 minutes, I add a cornflour slurry to the sauce and mix it together. Last but not least, I leave the sauce to simmer for a further 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

My Top Tips

I like to place fried prawn balls on a plate lined with kitchen paper as it will absorb excess oil and you’ll avoid having to wash a very greasy plate.

It’s so important that the oil is at a high temperature, this will give you golden and crispy prawn balls and not ones that are pale, overly greasy and soggy. To test if the temperature is hot enough, I either put a chopstick inside the oil. If I see fast and continuous bubbles appear, then I know the oil is hot enough for frying. Or I put a small drop of batter into the oil, if it starts cooking and bubbles appear then the oil is ready for frying.

If the prawn balls are browning too fast and becoming dark quite quickly, turn the heat down. An alternative is to add more oil to the wok or frying pan to cool down the overall temperature.

How To Store

Keep any leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. I like to reheat them in the microwave, but the texture can soften and turn soggy.

How To Serve Prawn Balls

I think prawn balls go with pretty much EVERY Chinese fakeaway dish! You can eat these prawn balls with the sauce alone, but if you want to make more of a filling meal, I recommend a side of Singapore Fried Rice, King Prawn Chow Mein or a side of Chicken Vermicelli noodles.

For a lighter side, you could serve this dish with other sides like my Crispy Chilli And Honey Beef or Honey Chilli Chicken recipe.

Prawn Balls (With Sweet And Sour Sauce)

Michelle

Here's how to make prawn balls and a homemade sweet and sour sauce. This Chinese takeaway recipe is so easy to make at home.

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, lunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4 People

Calories 318 kcal

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Prawn Marinade

• 240 g King Prawns
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp White Pepper
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine
• 2 tbsp Self-Raising Flour

Batter

• 200 g Self-Raising Flour
• 200 ml Water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Sweet And Sour Sauce (Optional)

• 230 ml Water
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp Ketchup
• 3 tbsp Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Pineapple Juice
• 1 tbsp Cornflour Mixed with 1 tbsp Water

Instructions

 

• Place peeled and clean prawns into a mixing bowl. Add salt, white pepper and Shaoxing cooking wine to the mixing bowl and mix together until evenly combined.
  240 g King Prawns, ½ tsp Salt, 1 tsp White Pepper, 1 tbsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine
• Add two tablespoons of self-raising flour to the mixing bowl and mix together until the prawns are coated in flour.
  2 tbsp Self-Raising Flour
• In a separate large bowl, mix self-raising flour and salt. Gradually add water and stir until combined.
  200 g Self-Raising Flour, 200 ml Water, 1 tsp Salt
• Leave the batter to rest for 5 minutes (this helps to remove lumps). After 5 minutes, add a teaspoon of vegetable oil and mix together.
  1 tsp Vegetable Oil
• Heat oil in a wok or pan over a medium heat. Coat a handful of prawns at a time in the batter.
• Add the battered prawns into the oil and fry for 4 minutes or until the batter is golden. Cooked prawn balls will float to the top, if they’re not floating, cook for an extra minute.

Sweet And Sour Sauce (Optional)

• To make the sweet and sour sauce, place water, sugar, ketchup, pineapple juice and vinegar into a wok or frying pan and heat over a medium to high heat.
  230 ml Water, 3 tbsp Sugar, 3 tbsp Ketchup, 3 tbsp Vinegar, 2 tbsp Pineapple Juice
• After 2 minutes, mix a small tablespoon of cornflour and a tablespoon of water in a mixing bowl and mix together. Add the cornflour mixture into the sauce and mix together. Leave the sauce to simmer for a further 1 to 2 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
  1 tbsp Cornflour

Video

Notes

Feel free to make adjustments to the sweet and sour sauce in order to suit your palate. For example, if you want to make the sauce sharper add extra vinegar, or more sugar if you want the sauce sweeter. Make small adjustments at a time to avoid overpowering the sauce with a particular flavour, it’s better to make frequent small changes than to start from scratch again.

Nutrition

Calories: 318kcalCarbohydrates: 52gProtein: 18gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 151mgSodium: 1461mgPotassium: 146mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 60IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 103mgIron: 2mg

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