Garlic butter prawns
This simple stir-fried dish uses fresh Australian garlic in a buttery sauce to coat delicious and tender prawns. If you want to make things even easier, you can skip the deep-frying step and just cook the prawns directly in the garlic butter sauce.
Ingredients
600 g large whole prawns
2 tbsp cornflour, plus extra for thickening
1.5 litres vegetable oil, for deep frying
50 g butter
10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
a good pinch of sugar
Method
Peel the prawns and reserve the shells. Butterfly the prawns by cutting a deep slit the back of the prawns , removing the intestine and flattening the prawn meat. Combine the prawn shells with about 1.5L of water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then strain and discard the shells, reserving the stock.
Mix the prawn meat with 2 tbsp of cornflour and ½ a cup of cold tap water. Rub the prawns in the cornflour mixture and set the prawns aside for at least 15 minutes.
Place the oil into a large saucepan and heat to 175C. Remove the prawns from the cornflour mixture and add to the hot oil. Deep fry the prawns for about 2 minutes until nearly cooked through, then remove and drain.
Heat a large wok over medium heat, add the butter and the garlic. Fry the garlic for about 1 minute until fragrant but not yet browned. Add about 2 tbsp of the prawn stock, the fish sauce, Shaoxing wine and a generous pinch of sugar. Add the prawns and toss through the garlic butter sauce. Mix a little extra cornstarch with some cold water and add a little to the sauce to thicken. Remove the prawns and sauce to a plate to serve.
Hey Adam,
Its kind of hard to get fresh prawns where I live, is it possible to do this (especially the shells stock) with frozen prawns?
Also, is it possible to freeze the stock later like other stocks? (I know shellfish are notoriously delicate and that it’s usually unwise to refreeze thawed things)
Thanks mate, love your recipes!
So good! I substituted the sugar for honey as it was all I had on hand, and man, so tasty! Thanks!
When I’m home I cook my Mom this recipe because she love to eat butter prawns.