This is one of those dishes with an odd name. It was named Ukoy/Okoy for no rhyme or reason. Ukoy or Okoy is a patty or cake of grated vegetables with or without pork. There really is no one basic recipe for this dish, there are different variations. While growing up, my Mom makes this dish with a simple batter added with a small handful of bean sprouts (togue), green onions and one whole shrimp in each patty which is then deep fried.

It's accompanied by a simple vinegar/soy sauce concoction. This is usually eaten for 'merienda' (snack). One of my Auntie makes this with grated yam, pork, shrimps, green onions and batter.

Here is my Ukoy recipe. I've tweaked this recipe countless times and this is the one that I prefer more than others.

1 bag of Bean Sprouts
1 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup Cornstarch
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
Pinch of Chili Powder
Pinch of Pepper
enough water to make a smooth batter (not too much that the batter will be runny)
green onions, minced


Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, chili powder and ground pepper. Add enough water to make the batter smooth but not too watery. If you accidentally end up with runny batter, just add extra flour.

Add one bag of washed bean sprouts, chopped shrimp and minced green onions. Fry it in a skillet with a little oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the patty. Use medium heat and fry until both sides are golden brown.

I prefer to use chopped shrimp because I like to taste the shrimp in every bite. Having a whole shrimp in each patty is more for aesthetics in my opinion. But hey, to each his own, you can make it whatever way you like. :)