garlic-crusted king prawns

For us, fresh whole prawns are best eaten in one of two ways: simply blanched, so you can enjoy their natural sweetness(see here), or intoxicated with flavour. This recipe is a fantastic example of the latter with its brazen use of and char-kissed- shells. You could also dothis with peeled prawns, but we think it’s more of a fun challenge to unpeel them with just chop-sticks and teeth… after you’ve unabashedly sucked off all the garlicky crust, that is.

Serves 400g raw king prawns, heads removed and deveined 14 tsp salt 14 tsp cornflour 5 tbsp vegetable oil 5 cloves garlic, finely diced 1 Use small knife to cut down the back of each prawn to half its thickness. Pat the prawns dry on kitchen paper and rub in the salt.

2 In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and/2 teaspoon water into a slurry and set aside.

3 Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or a large pan over a medium heat and stir-fry the garlic for about 30 seconds until the oil is fragrant and the garlic is just starting to brown. Immediately take the wok off the heat and scoop the garlic into bowl, leaving any extra oil in the wok.

Pour the cornflour slurry over the salted prawns, toss to coat. Reheat the wok over a high heat until it is smoking hot and add 2 tablespoons oil. Put the prawns in the wok in a single layer and fry undisturbed for minute. Flip each prawn over, drizzle in the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sear for another 30 seconds, then quickly stir-fry until the flesh loses its transparency. Return the garlic to the wok and toss to coat the prawns before serving.

qingquang

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