SERVES 3 TO 4 AS A LIGHT ENTREE, 6 TO 8 AS PART OF A MULTICOURSE MEAL
This is a great way to cook truly fresh prawns, the increasingly uncommon sort that have never suffered the indignities of freezing or preservative-bleaching and are consequently hard to get and pricey. We get them only sporadically, primarily from Santa Barbara and the Texas gulf, and the sweet firm flesh is heavenly.
While this recipe details a room-temperature composed salad presented with China Moon pickles, the prawns can also be served freshly seared and hot as an entrée, along with rice, simply dressed pasta, or a stir-fry of seasonal vegetables.
1 pound fresh, sweet-smelling prawns in their shells (Don’t worry about size. Worry only about freshness.)
MARINADE:
⅓ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tablespoon Ma-La Oil (page 17) or Five-Flavor Oil (page 13)
½ teaspoon sugar
4 quarter-size coins fresh ginger, smashed
2 scallions, cut into 1-inch nuggets and smashed
1 to 2 tablespoons corn or peanut oil
2 tablespoons diagonally sliced green and white scallion rings, to garnish the prawns
Ginger-Pickled Daikon (page 53) or Lemon-Pickled Lotus Rounds (page 55)
Orange-Pickled Carrot Coins (page 58)
An assortment of baby lettuces dressed with Fresh Ginger Vinaigrette (page 24)
1. To prepare the prawns, remove the stinger at the tail end and pull off the legs. Remove the shell down to the last digit. Butterfly the prawns with a sharp paring knife, laying them on their side on a workboard. Start at the head and cut along the back two-thirds of the way to the tail. Remove the dark vein.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients through the scallions until combined. Add the prawns and marinate for 10 minutes. Drain and discard the marinade; refrigerate the prawns until ready to cook, overnight if you like.
3. Heat a wok or a small heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to evaporate a bead of water on contact. Add 1 scant tablespoon of the oil and swirl to glaze the pan. When nearly smoking, spread 4 or 5 of the prawns, tails up and flesh sides down, in the pan. Sear until golden, only 15 to 20 seconds. Turn and brown the other side for 5 to 10 seconds more. The timing will differ depending on the size of the prawns; they are done when they feel firm at the thickest spot. Remove the prawns to a large plate in a single layer, then repeat with the remaining prawns, swirling a teaspoon or so of oil into the pan with each new batch.
4. Serve the prawns immediately or at room temperature on plates of contrasting color. Arrange the shrimp jauntily to one side to get a bit of height, garnish with a sprinkling of scallion, and then complete the plate with pinched hills of the pickled vegetables and a tumble of ginger-dressed greens.
Prawn, as far as I’m concerned, is simply a sexy word for shrimp, and occasionally a better come-on in a recipe title. Here, size of beast is irrelevant, freshness is all.
MENU SUGGESTIONS: As a room-temperature dish, you could also serve the prawns alongside a hill of cold noodles—Dragon Noodles (page 391) or Cold Tomato Noodles (page 394)—both being delicious choices. Served hot, their flavor would complement most all of our hot and sour soups.
