I was introduced to this dish one evening when I dined with Madhur Jaffrey and her husband at the Shun Lee Palace restaurant in New York. She suggested that I try it, predicting that I would appreciate the imaginative interplay of pungent aromas and spicy flavours. How right she was. This is an exciting treat for the taste buds and very easy to prepare. Serve it with rice (see here). For a one-dish meal, double the quantity of sauce and toss the sauce and prawns with fresh egg noodles or rice noodles.
| Hot and spicy |
| Preparation time 20 minutes |
| Serves 4 |
450 g (1 lb) raw prawns (green shrimp)
2 tablespoons salt, plus 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons groundnut (peanut) oil
2 fresh chilli peppers, deseeded and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon salted black beans
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
4 tablespoons coarsely chopped spring onions (scallions)
3 tablespoons white rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch), blended with 2 teaspoons water
1 Peel the prawns, make a slit down the back of each one and pull out the fine digestive cord with the tip of the knife. Wash the prawns in cold water with a tablespoon of salt, then drain and repeat. Rinse well and pat dry with kitchen paper.
2 Combine with the teaspoon of salt, plus the cornflour and sesame oil and mix well.
3 Heat a wok or large frying pan and add the groundnut oil and prawns. Stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove the prawns with a slotted spoon. Add the chilli peppers, black beans, garlic and spring onions to the wok and stir-fry for 20 seconds.
4 Add the vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Stir in the cornflour mixture and return the prawns to the wok. Cook for another 2 minutes, then serve at once.