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.