Turn your ordinary fritters into something amazing the way the Filipinos make it. Try this okoy recipe loaded with veggies and the sweet vinegar dipping sauce ( pink vinegar sauce) to go with it.
When we were living in the Philippines, my son went to a kindy and learnt a children’s song.
The “” Bahay kobo song” that every kid knows in Tagalog. It is a song about a village house surrounded by vegetables and fruits. The song was more beneficial for me than to him as I could navigate the veggie open market, on my own, with this song and knowing a few numbers to calculate the prices. I felt less alien and more like I belong. Little did people near me know that i was humming this song on repeat so I knew what to ask for.
Following learning this song, i learnt to make the street food okoy from the kindy mums. Filled with a lot of vegetables the fritter is crisp flat and always hits the right notes. The song always felt right with the okoy always and is a lovely memory of the kids growing up.
The “” Bahay kobo song” that every kid knows in Tagalog. It is a song about a village house surrounded by vegetables and fruits. The song was more beneficial for me than to him as I could navigate the veggie open market, on my own, with this song and knowing a few numbers to calculate the prices. I felt less alien and more like I belong. Little did people near me know that i was humming this song on repeat so I knew what to ask for.
Following learning this song, i learnt to make the street food okoy from the kindy mums. Filled with a lot of vegetables the fritter is crisp flat and always hits the right notes. The song always felt right with the okoy always and is a lovely memory of the kids growing up.
What is okoy?
The veggie loaded Filipino style fritters is called okoy or ukoy. Classic okoy is made with shrimps, however the pumpkin or vegetable version is equally popular. Made with rice flour the street style snack is gluten free, vegan and nut free. It can hide a lot of finely shredded vegetables and hence is a perfect recipe for hidden veggies fritter. It is usually served with a sweet pink vinegar based dipping sauce that balances out the deep fried effect.
Ingredients to make Filipino fritters
The filipino fritter doesn’t look like it hides a lot, but the flavour is partly from this deception. the Main flavour come from the vegetable mix you choose.
Vegetable mix:this is where you literally get to play god. As long as you have some starchy veggies to hold everything together, you can literally add any vegetable to this mix. I like cabbage, pumpkin,carrot, shallots in this recipe. You can add sweet potato, capsicum, potato, beans, corn, kohlrabi and any Asian greens you like. So feel free to vary based on what you have. Here is what I will avoid in this mix cucumbers, tomato, bottle gourd and winter melons are not suitable as they make the batter too runny.
Glutinous rice flour: also known as sticky rice flour or sweet rice flour, is a high starch content flour used in Asian cooking. i use the flour to vegetable mix ratio as 1: 1. For every cup of grated vegetable use 1 cup of glutinous rice flour. You can use all-purpose flour instead of rice flour. A table spoon of cornflour with the all purpose flour makes the fritters crisp. Otherwise the fritter goes limp pretty fast.
Seasoning:not much of spices are added to this recipe. It is usually just salt and pepper that is added.
Oil: peanut oil or vegetable oil id used for frying the fritters this is just based on your preferences. For the authentic flavors peanut oil is the best.
Ingredients the make pink vinegar dipping sauce
Vinegar: the dipping sauce with plain cooking vinegar cuts through the deep fried fritter and make the dipping sauce an excellent combo. You can make it with cooking white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Onion: the red onion when soaked in the vinegar provides a pink hue to the dipping sauce. This is why the red one is preferred. If you don’t have it yellow brown onion will do just fine.
Sugar: the dipping sauce is made sweeter than usual by stirring in some sugar. Though it feels odd the combination tastes good with the fried fritter.
Salt: salt balances the sauce flavours. General table salt will provide the necessary flavour.
Sugar: the dipping sauce is made sweeter than usual by stirring in some sugar. Though it feels odd the combination tastes good with the fried fritter.
Salt: salt balances the sauce flavours. General table salt will provide the necessary flavour.
Lets make sweet dipping vinegar
- The pink colour takes a few minutes to seep in so I prefer making the dipping sauce first.
- The pink dipping sauce is so easy to make.
- Finely chop the red onion and add it to a bowl, add the vinegar, salt and sugar.
- Stir well and set it aside for 10 minutes.
Now, let’s make the okoy fritters
- I have used cabbage, pumpkin, carrots, a small capsicum that grew in the garden to make this recipe.
- Grate these so that they make a easy mix and cook evenly.
- Add these into the mixing bowl. Use 1:1 ratio of glutinous flour to vegetable grated.
- Add the flour, salt and crushed black pepper.
- Mix this well and set aside for 10 minutes. do not add any water as the vegetables will provide enough moisture.
- Heat oil in a pan . Once oil is hot, lower the heat to medium.
- Scoop and shape the batter in to flat and as far as round you can. Then gently place in the oil. Let this cook on on side and gently flip to the other side.
- Once both sides are golden and crispy, remove and drain from oil.
- The okoy is ready to have.
Meal prep the okoy
Okoy is a favorite in the lunch boxes and as after school snacks. So, yes we meal prep them. Once you make them cool them well and store in tight lidded boxes. This will ensure they don’t go soggy. Store them in the refrigerator for up to a week. To reheat them I prefer a flat pan or the toaster. This keeps them crisp and not go soft.
Okoy
Equipment
- frying pan
- grater
- mixing bowls and spoons.
Ingredients
for the batter
- 4 cups mixed vegetable grated ( I have used carrot, cabbage, pumpkin and sweet potato)
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- 2 tbsp scallions chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
for frying
- 1 cup cooking oil
for the sweet vinegar dipping sauce
- 1/2 cup vinegar distilled
- 1 small red onion
- 1 medium green chilli
- 2 tbsp sugar
- salt to taste use a little at a time
Instructions
For the sweet vinegar dipping sauce
- Peel, wash an finely chop the onion and chillies.
- Add this into a mixing bowl, with vinegar, salt, sugar and the chillies.
- Set this aside for the pink colour of the onions to infuse.
- If keeping for longer, store in the fridge in a tight jar.
For the filipino fritter dough
- Peel and grate carrots, pumpkin and sweet potato.
- Grate the cabbages and add to the mixing bowl.
- Chop the scallions and add to the mix.
- Add the rice flour, salt and pepper to this mix.
- Mix well and set it aside.
For frying the okoy
- Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
- Scoop a bit of the batter and place in the warm oil.
- Gently flatten the surface.
- Once the sizzling slows down, flip over and cook the other side as well.
- Once it crisps up, remove from oil.
- Serve warm with dipping sauce.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Other recipes from the Filipino cuisine
We have not written about a lot of recipes from the Philippines. Here is a couple we have posted.
Pancit bihon
Ampalaya salad
Pancit bihon
Ampalaya salad
Stay connected
Hope you enjoy making this comforting but unique street style Filipino recipe. Initially it is hard to understand how the vinegar is the best combo till you actually try it. The veggie loaded bite is perfectly balanced by the acidic sweetness of the dipping sauce.
We enjoy having these a lot and take some in a lunch boxes.
We enjoy having these a lot and take some in a lunch boxes.
Share with us in the comments if you enjoyed making okoy in the comments below.
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