serves
4
prep
20 minutes
cook
15 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
20
minutes
cooking
15
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable oil
- 8 large raw king prawns, peeled and deveined, with tails intact
- 40 g tapioca flour
- 20 g rice flour
- ½ bunch Chinese broccoli (gai lan), trimmed and cut into 4–5 cm lengths
- large handful coriander leaves
- 1 large fresh red chilli, julienned
Tamarind sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 small dried chillies
- 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 large fresh red chillies, julienned
- 8 red shallots, sliced
- 3 red birds-eye chillies, chopped
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fish sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) tamarind puree
- 150 g soft palm sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 200 ml water
Instructions
To make the tamarind sauce, heat the oil in a deep heavy-based saucepan over high heat. Add the dried chillies, then deep-fry until crisp. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towel. Add the garlic and large fresh chilli to the pan and cook for 1 minute, then add the shallot and continue cooking for another 1 minute, then add the birds-eye chilli, fish sauce, tamarind, palm sugar and salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Crumble the deep-fried dried chillies. Carefully add the water and dried chilli to the sauce, then simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Place the prawns on a large flat plate. Combine the tapioca flour and rice flour and sprinkle over the prawns to coat, then shake off any excess.
Deep-fry a few prawns at a time in the hot oil for 6 minutes or until the prawns just change colour and are cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the remaining prawns.
Meanwhile, blanch the Chinese broccoli in a saucepan of boiling water for 1–2 minutes, then drain.
Pour 300g of the tamarind sauce into a small heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Leftover tamarind sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Place the Chinese broccoli on a serving plate and top with the prawns. Drizzle with the hot tamarind sauce and garnish with coriander leaves and chilli, then serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
