STEAMED LANGOUSTINES WITH FERMENTED SHRIMP PASTE

There is a restaurant in Hong Kong famous for being Winston Churchill’s favourite hangout when on state visits.It is now a members club and I had to call in many favours to get a table.This dish is my interpretation of their version，which uses large prawns instead of langoustines，but it would be mad for me to stick to the original in using prawns，as the langoustines available fresh in the UK are amazingly good.Fermented shrimp paste is one of those ingredients that smells awful but is an atomic bomb of salty，fishy，shrimpy，umami flavour.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

8（10-14 per kg size）raw langoustines

3 slices of peeled fresh root ginger

1 spring onion，finely sliced

1 tablespoon sesame oil

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper

pinch of sugar

For the fermented shrimp paste sauce

10g fermented shrimp paste

squeeze of lemon juice

drop of sesame oil

1.Cut the langoustines in half lengthways，cleaning out the green brains and innards，and rinse under cold running water.

2.Place the ginger and spring onion in a bamboo steamer and sit the langoustines on top.

3.Steam over a high heat for 3 minutes or until the internal temperature of the langoustines reaches 45℃.

4.Meanwhile，for the fermented shrimp paste sauce，simply mix the ingredients together in a serving bowl.

5.Season the langoustines with the salt，pepper and sugar and serve immediately with the sauce.

hancheng

See author's posts