I used Argentinean red prawns for this dish, which have become difficult to find. ALDI is about the only place left with their Ocean Royale Wild Raw Peeled Prawns. $17 for 500 grams, peeled and deveined. These prawns are from the freezing, clean ocean around Patagonia, and they are red in their uncooked state which confuses the punters I suspect. Predictably they disappeared just before Christmas (they should be back in stock by now) and, after much searching, an alternative appeared at Woolworths: Karumba prawns from the Gulf of Carpentaria, big firm, fleshy and tasty. Peeled and deveined down under, not in Thailand. Unheard of. Just one problem: they cost $25 for half a kilo. You can use ‘fresh’ prawns of course (all prawns are snap-frozen) but I hate messing with the shells and the poop canal.
PROCESS
- I used cooked basmati rice from the night before, warmed up in the oven with some olive oil
- Make sauce for the veggies: 1 – 2 tbspoons of oyster sauce, 2-3 of soy sauce, a dash of sdesame oil, a dash balsamic vinegar and a splash of water. Just mix it up, and it’s ready
- Fry the smashed and chopped garlic, spring onions, bok choy and thinly sliced peppers for 5 minutes & add these to a small oven-proof serving dish. Pour sauce over the veggies
- Fry the prawns with some grated ginger, add the sugar snaps late if you want them crunchy
- Add seasoning and spicy stuff (see below)
Please note: I used small quantities of these ingredients one tablespoon at a time, constantly checking the taste. These prawns are quite forgiving and not easily overcooked, but don’t push your luck: it’s better to take them off for a minute if you need extra time. This is the creative part – use your own judgment, and experiment.
I served the prawns straight from the pan, and the veggies and rice in 2 separate containers.
INGREDIENTS
- Good quality prawns
- Spring onions
- Baby bok choy
- Sugar snaps or snow peas
- Red pepper or caps
- Sesame or macadamia oil for frying
- Garlic chopped
- Ginger grated
- Lemon zest
- Coriander (fresh or dreid)
- Fennel seeds (crushed)
- Chinese 5-spice
The spicy stuff
- Teriyaki sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Balsamic reduction, small teaspoon
- Chili jam, 2 teaspoons
- Chili flakes, just a few
- Sherry, just a dash
- White wine
- Soy Sauce
