Soya Sauce King Prawn (豉油王煎蝦) with Crispy Prawn Legs

Prawns rank number one in my list of favourite food, especially barbecue prawns. Whenever I see barbecue prawns on the menu I cannot resist ordering it, despite how interesting the rest of the menu may look.

Next on my list is soya sauce king prawn. In this case, the "king" refers to the soya sauce not the prawn. The mix of light and dark soya sauce on the crispy crunchy prawn adds a special dimension that makes this a most delicious succulent dish. This dish never fails to please and yet it is so simple to make. Yum, yum, yum!

In recent times, I like to add crispy prawn legs to the dish. My hubby loves the extra crispy texture of the prawn legs and they are small enough to crunch and swallow.  We can also do with more calcium in our diet!

VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/b43VswuM0Ew

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large fresh prawns with shells 

• 8-10 prawn legs (from another set of prawns)

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1 clove garlic (minced)

• 1 thumb-size ginger (minced)

• 1 chilli (sliced)

• Soya sauce mix:

  • 1 tablespoon soya sauce

  • 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

• 10 fresh coriander leaves (or basil leaves)

• Garnish: 1 chilli flower & 1 sprig of coriander leaves

METHOD

1. Prepare the prawns. Pull the head away from the body, run it under the tap to flush out the nasty bits. From the body, remove the black line. Cut off the spike on tail. Then either slit the shell on the back of the prawn or run the knife along the length of the body.

2. To prepare prawn legs, detach the head and legs from the body of the prawn. (Keep the body of the prawn for other dishes). Remove the shell from the head.  Flush out the nasty bits from the head under a running tap. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and massage into the prawn legs.

3. Dry fry the prawn legs. Add a little oil and fry until crispy. Remove to a plate.

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add garlic, ginger and chilli and fry until fragrant.

5. Add the prawns and mix well. Allow the prawns to fry until golden before flipping to the other side.

6. Once cooked and golden, turn off the heat and add the soya sauce mix and stir to combine.

7. Stir in coriander leaves.

8. Top with crispy prawn legs and garnish with a chilli flower and a sprig o coriander. This dish is best served immediately.