I first saw Chef Ben O’Donaghue cook this recipe whilst aboard a boat on Channel Ten’s, Weekend Feast. It looked delicious, had me salivating and shortly after, I tried the recipe for myself with good results and generous compliments. It’s so moorish I bet you can’t resist licking the bowl clean.
Ingredients
500 g King Green King Prawns (de-veined) (I used 1kg)
1/2 cup fresh curry leaves (essential to impart flavour to the prawns)
50ml sunflower oil (or vegetable or peanut)
1 iceberg lettuce (leaves separated into cups)
Steamed rice
Garnish
Coriander
Mint leaves
Wedges of lime
Sauce
3 spring onions finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic puree (I used Gourmet Garden brand)
1 teaspoon ginger puree (Gourmet Garden)
50g butter
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon kecap manis
1 teaspoon korean chilli paste ( I used masterfoods chilli freshly chopped, cause I couldn’t bloody find this damn korean one anywhere)
1 teaspoon miso paste (if you’re not making miso soup on a regular basis, the miso paste will sit in your fridge unused. I still bought it though.)
1 tablespoon of cracked black peppercorns (freshly cracked in a mortar and pestle is best)
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornflour
3 tablespoons water ( to dissolve the cornflour)
Method
Heat the oil in a deep non-stick wok or frying pan. Add curry leaves and cook until fragrant then add cleaned/ deveined, de-shelled prawns until cooked briefly. The fresh curry leaves impart a beautiful flavour to the prawns, and are crucial to the flavour of the dish. Remove prawns and curry leaves from the pan and place aside.
Cook the garlic and ginger purees until fragrant, add the oyster sauce, kecap manis, chilli, miso, chicken stock, then add the dissolved cornflour and add the butter to taste. I added a little extra butter to the dish, remember fat is flavour :) Add the prawns and curry leaves back into the sauce and heat until the prawns are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Serve with rice or add rice, prawns with sauce and garnish to the lettuce cup.
