Hot and Sour Assam Prawns
This works well as a Starter or as part of an Asian Banquet.
Preparation time: 10 minutes Quantity: Makes 4 x 5 king prawn main course Cooking time: 5-8 minutes
Ingredients
4 shallots or 1 small red onion
2 cloves garlic
30g/ 1 oz cashew nuts
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
2 whole lemon grass-finely chopped & squashed 1 teaspoon lime juice
1 fresh red chilli peppers -remove seeds
20 shell on king prawns
50ml tamarind juice or 1 teaspoon tamarind paste made up with hot water to 50ml
1/4-1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 fresh lime juiced
seasoning
Method
- In a pestle & mortar or processor- grind the onion, garlic, nuts, turmeric, lemon grass, shrimp paste and chillies
- Fry the paste in the oil for a minute to release all the flavours
- Add the prawns and cook both sides for 1-2 minutes till they change from black to pink (cooked)
- Add the tamarind, sugar and lime -cook for a minute and season
- Serve- don’t overcook the prawns. they literally only take a few minutes to cook