Sweet Chilli Prawns

I think growing up on an island has something to do with my love of seafood. My mum used to get seafood directly from the local fishermens because it’s cheaper and most importantly, fresher. Unfortunately this is something I haven’t been able to achieve over here, especially residing in an inland regional area. Having said that, this doesn’t stop me from splurging on supermarket seafood every now and then. The quality may not be the same but with a little external help from seasonings, it is good enough to satisfy my seafood crave. The best part is it doesn’t take long to make. 🙂

I love my prawns with a lot of flavours, knowingly, most seafood connoisseurs would shake their heads in disapproval. Don’t get me wrong, I love boiled prawns with a good dipping sauce! But when it comes to supermarket prawns, don’t you think they need extra care to compensate the lack of freshness as compared to the ones from the fishmongers? The sweet chilli version is what I make almost all the time when there are prawns in the house. I just couldn’t get enough of the tiny bit of sauce which goes superbly well with steamed rice.

So what is your favourite prawn dish? (Feel free to link your prawn recipe in the comment section.)

(A Fuss Free Cooking recipe)

Serves 2

(Side note: When it comes to prawns, I always insist on shell-on prawns. The idea of peeling the shell using your fingers can be messy and perhaps, not something you would eat on a date night. But if you are a serious prawn-muncher like myself, the pleasure of licking (okay… sucking) the sauce off the shell before undressing them is heavenly.)

Ingredients:-

500g / 18 oz shell-on prawns
About 4 small garlic cloves
2 bird eyes chillies (*optional)
2 stalks spring onions
1/4 cup Thai sweet chilli sauce
3/4 tbsp soy sauce
2 drops of sesame oil

Methods:

Mix sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil in a bowl / measuring cup. Set aside.

Roughly chopped garlic, slice spring onions diagonally and red chillies if you decide to use some. Set aside.

Trim the prawns to your liking. What I usually do with mine are removing their heads and swimming legs (as best as you can without removing the shell in the process) and using a sharp knife to slice abodominal segments in order to devein. If this step is too daunting for you, there’s no judgement if you use peeled prawns. 😛

Heat 2 tbsps of cooking oil in a wok, use less oil if you are using a non-stick pan. When the oil is hot, on medium flame, add garlic, chillies and HALF of the spring onions. Saute until aromatic (meaning you can smell the garlic and spring onion in the air).

Add in the prawns. Let them cook on one side and when the cook side down is slightly charred and turning orange, flip the prawns to the other side. I try not to toss and turn the prawns too much to avoid the loss of moisture.

When the prawns are almost cooked, add the sauce mixture and stir to combine. Do this over low heat to minimise the risk of burning the sauce.

Once prawns and sauce mixture is well combined, turn up the heat to medium and quickly toss the ingredient around (should last a couple of seconds). When you notice the sauce thickens and start to caramelize, switch off the flame and add in the REMAINING spring onions. Toss to combine everything.

Serve immediately with rice.

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