Batter-fried Butterfly Prawns
1 min readFeng WeiXia
500g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined but tails left intact cornflour, for dusting
2large eggs, beaten
1teaspoon salt
2teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1teaspoon sesame oil
dried breadcrumbs, for coating
300ml(2pint) groundnut or vegetable oil
2lemons, sliced into wedges, to garnish
roasted sichuan peppercorns, ground and combined with salt, to serve The popularity that this dish enjoys in the West is growing in China, with good reason-deep-frying preserves the prawn’s moistness and the batter provides crunchiness.
1. To butterfly the prawns, make a deep cut down the belly of each prawn and then open it out. Wash the prawns and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Lay them out on a baking sheet and dust them evenly with the cornflour.
2. Combine the beaten eggs, salt, pepper and sesame oil in a glass bowl. Dip each prawn in the egg mixture and then roll them in the breadcrumbs.
3. Heat a wok until it is hot, then add the groundnut or vegetable oil. When the oil is hot and slightly smoking, fry the prawns for about 2 minutes until they are golden brown. Drain them on kitchen paper and serve at once, garnished with the lemon wedges, with a small bowl of roasted Sichuan pepper and salt on the side.
