Spicy Stir Fried Prawns With Cashew Nuts

Gok Cooks Chinese

Posted by Gok Wan

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SERVES 2

PREPARATION TIME 10 MINS
COOKING TIME 1 HOUR 10 MINS

There is so little wastage when cooking Chinese food – if making a king prawn dish like this one, all the shells and prawn heads can be used to make a delicious stock. When you’ve shelled the prawns – I always wear a pair of rubber gloves when I’m preparing this dish, as I can’t stand the smell of prawns on my hands – pile the shells, tails and heads into a pan of boiling water, add some garlic and smashed ginger
and you have a gorgeous and tasty stock. Use this stock to add flavour and balance to any dish, be it meat, fish or vegetables. This is how cooking should be – free! As Poppa
Wan always says, ‘No waste it . . . it add fravor, innit!’

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You Will Need (20 things)

  • 2 tsp light Soy Sauce
  • 1 tsp –2 teaspoons Fish Sauce , to taste
  • 1 tsp –2 teaspoons Shaoxing Rice Wine or dry sherry
  • Salt and ground white pepper
  • 1 long red Chillies , deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 sticks of Celery , trimmed and thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • 8 raw king Prawns , peeled and de-veined
  • 4 Spring Onion , trimmed, green and white parts separated, whites roughly bruised
  • 2 cloves of Garlic , peeled and roughly chopped
  • a 2cm piece of fresh Ginger , peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp Groundnut Oil
  • For the stir-fry :
  • Shells and heads from 8 raw kin Prawns (prawns used below)
  • 2–3 cloves of Garlic , peeled and roughly bruised
  • 4cm piece of fresh Ginger , cut in half and roughly bruised
  • For the stock :
  • A pinch of Sugar
  • 100 g Cashews
  • 1 tsp (heaped) Cornflour mixed with a little cold water
  • 1 tsp Sesame Oil

Steps (4 steps, 70 minutes)

  1. 1

    For the stock, place the ginger, garlic and prawn shells and heads into a wok or saucepan. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce the heat and gently simmer for up to 1 hour (although 10–15 minutes is fine). Drain the liquid through a sieve lined with muslin before using, discarding the spices, shells and heads.

  2. 2

    Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat. Add the ginger, garlic and spring onions (both green and white parts) and cook for a minute or until the garlic has softened and the ginger is aromatic. Add the prawns and cook for a further minute, then add the celery and ¾ of the chilli.

  3. 3

    Once the prawns start to turn pink, add 4 tablespoons of stock (the rest of the stock can be used in other recipes) and season with salt and pepper. Add the Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce and fish sauce. Taste, and if the mixture is too salty, add a pinch of sugar. Add the cashews and dot in ½–1 teaspoon of the cornflour mix to slightly thicken the dish.

  4. 4

    Serve the prawns sprinkled with the remaining chopped chilli and a drizzle of sesame oil. If you like, you can use a large savoy cabbage leaf as a bowl.