Spicy Salt et Pepper Prawns
For best results, use raw tiger prawns (shrimp) in their shells. They are 7 - 10 cm (3 - 4 inches) long, and you should get 18 - 20 per 500 g (1 lb 2 oz).
Ingredients
- 10 1/2 oz raw prawns shrimp in their shells, defrosted if frozen
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
- 2 tsp cornflour cornstarch
- vegetable oil for deep-frying
- 3 spring onions scallions, to garnish
spicy salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp ground Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
Instructions
- Pull the soft legs off the prawns (shrimp), but keep the body shell on. Dry well on absorbent kitchen paper (paper towels).
- Place the prawns (shrimp) in a bowl with the soy sauce, rice wine or sherry and cornflour (cornstarch). Turn the prawns (shrimp) to coat thoroughly in the mixture and leave to marinate for about 25 - 30 minutes.
- To make the Spicy Salt and Pepper, mix the salt, ground Szechuan peppercorns and five-spice powder together. Place in a dry frying pan (skillet) and stir-fry for about 3-4 minutes over a low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the spices burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a preheated wok or large
- frying pan (skillet) until smoking, then deep-fry the
- prawns (shrimp) in batches until golden brown. Remove
- the prawns (shrimp) from the wok with a slotted spoon and
- drain on kitchen paper (paper towels).
- Place the spring onions (scallions) in a bowl, pour on 1 tablespoon of the hot oil and leave for 30 seconds. Serve the prawns (shrimp) garnished with the spring onions (scallions), and with the Spicy Salt and Pepper as a dip.
- The roasted spice mixture made with Szechuan peppercorns is used throughout China as a dip for deep-fried food. The peppercorns are sometimes roasted first and then ground. Dry-frying is a way of releasing the flavours of the spices.
Calories: 69 kcal
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Protein: 11 g
Fat: 1g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 94 mg
Sodium: 2419 mg
Potassium: 149 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 1 g
Vitamin A: 233 IU
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Calcium: 60 mg
Iron: 1 mg