Sunday, March 17, 2013

Singapore Black Pepper Prawns


One of the best things about living in Mumbai is the access to a variety of seafood. Now, for someone like me who loves seafood, prawns are the ultimate comfort food. The other day, my mum happened to get some absolutely lovely king prawns and I almost jumped with joy and excitement.

Considering how versatile prawns are, the question was what to make of them. Many options were considered, “Prawns Ghassi”, “Jhinga Tandoori”, “Prawns Biryani” were very close contenders, but we also realized that it was a while since we had some Oriental food and so, we decided to cook something that is synonymous with Singapore, the “Singapore Black Pepper Prawns”.

For those of you who have visited Singapore, there is no way you have missed the two culinary landmarks there, “Singapore Chilli Crab” &“Singapore Black Pepper Prawns”. Strangely, I tasted this not on a trip to Singapore, but in Dubai. The hotel where I stayed had an awesome Oriental restaurant. One of the nice things of the place was the chef would recommend the dish to suit your preference and to a certain extent customize your order. Considering it was so heavily spiced with pepper, I was a bit apprehensive at first, but two bites later, I was already in love with the combination. Let me tell you, it almost set my tongue on fire but it was worth every bit.

The only seasoning is the pepper and that actually carries the dish along and the oyster sauce lends the oomph. My suggestion is to use King prawns, they go well with the ruggedness of the pepper and that sudden blast of spice just at the back of your head will make it an experience you will want to come back again and again.

Please do give it a try, I’m sure you”ll enjoy it!




Singapore Black Pepper Prawns

Ingredients:
  • 600 grams King Prawns (please retain the tail)
  •  ½  cup whole black peppercorns (If you like it more spicier, increase the quantity)
  •  10 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 1 fresh Ginger, minced
  • 3 Tablespoons Peanut oil
  • 2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
  • 1 cup water
  •          Spring Onions Greens – for garnishing


Procedure:
  • Dry roast the pepper corns till they begin to crackle. Remove from the flame and grind them coarsely.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok. When the oil is hot, add in the prawns and toss lightly till they turn pink. This will take about a minute on high flame.
  • Now, add the remaining oil in the wok and add in the garlic and ginger and fry till they change colour.
  • Add both the sauces (Oyster & Soya) and stir well. Add the water and mix well.
  • Now add the prawns and stir so that the prawns are covered well with the sauce.
  • It’s now time to add the pepper and mix well.
  • Serve hot, garnished with the spring onion greens.



No comments:

Post a Comment