Monsoon Salt And Pepper Whole Prawns Food

TOM'S SZECHUAN PEPPER AND SALT PRAWNS

Steps:

• Prepare pepper-salt: In a small saute pan over medium heat, toast Szechuan and white peppercorns for about 3 minutes, shaking the pan. They will smoke and pop like popcorn, but don't let them burn. Let cool, then coarsely grind the pepper in a spice mill, and combine with salt in a small bowl; set aside.
• Place cornstarch in a medium bowl. Heat peanut oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat until it is just short of smoking. Toss prawns in the cornstarch, and remove excess by shaking coated prawns in a sieve. Add prawns to the wok, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing a few times to cook through on both sides. With a large spatula, hold the prawns in place, tip the wok, and pour off and discard the excess oil. Add garlic, minced chile, and pepper-salt mixture. Return the wok to the heat, and toss prawns with the spices until spices release their fragrance and coat the shells, about 1 minute.

SALT & PEPPER PRAWNS

Steps:

• First, make the dipping sauce. Crush the garlic, coriander and chilli using a pestle and mortar. (If you don't have one, just finely chop.) Pound in the sugar until dissolved, then add the lime juice and fish sauce. It should taste sweet, salty and spicy.
• To make the spice mix, toast the Sichuan and black peppercorns in a frying pan over a medium heat for 1 min or until fragrant. Finely grind in a spice mill or using a pestle and mortar, then add the salt and chilli flakes and mix together. Transfer to a bowl.
• Combine the spice mix with the cornflour. Heat 7.5cm of oil in a large wok or deep heavy-based saucepan. You can test the temperature by frying a small piece of bread - it should sizzle instantly and take 20 secs to turn golden. Toss the prawns with the spice mix, shake off the excess and deep-fry, in batches, for 1-2 mins or until crisp at the edges and starting to curl. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a baking tray lined with kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the remaining prawns. Scatter over the pea shoots or salad leaves, if you like, and serve with the dipping sauce.

MONSOON SALT AND PEPPER WHOLE PRAWNS

Steps:

• Rinse the shrimp. Dry thoroughly and set aside.
• Combine the three peppers in a small skillet and heat, shaking, until the Sichuan peppercorns begin to smoke. Remove from the heat and grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder. Combine with the salt, five-spices and sugar. Set aside half of the mixture for another time.
• Heat four cups of peanut oil in a wok until nearly smoking. Fry the prawns quickly and remove to drain with a large slotted spoon or skimmer.
• Heat a dry wok to smoking. Add the prawns and, while tossing them vigorously, sprinkle them very liberally with the salt and pepper mixture. This should take another 30 seconds or so. Turn off the heat, toss quickly with the coriander and serve hot.

SALT AND PEPPER PRAWNS (SHRIMP)

Steps:

• Peel, devein and butterfly the prawns, leaving the tails intact.
• Combine the flour salt and 2 teaspoons of the ground peppercorns in a large bowl. Add prawns and toss to coat in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour from each prawn.
• Heat the oil in a wok or frypan until very hot. Cook prawns in small batches for about 2 minutes or until crisp. Transfer prawns to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.
• In a seperate bowl, combine the salt flakes with the remaining teaspoon of ground peppercorns.
• Place prawns on a serving plate and sprinkle with the salt & pepper mix. Serve with lemon wedges.
• Enjoy!

SALT & PEPPER PRAWNS WITH LEMON-GRASS MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• To make the mayonnaise, combine the water, lemon grass and lime rind in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes or until liquid has reduced to 1 tablespoonful. Set aside for 15 minutes to cool.
• Strain the lemon-grass mixture through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise and basil and stir to combine.
• Thread the prawns, tail-end first, onto the bamboo skewers.
• Preheat a barbecue grill on high. Combine the Sichuan pepper, black pepper and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle the pepper mixture over the prawns and cook on grill for 1-2 minutes each side or until prawns change colour. Transfer to a serving platter. Serve with lemon-grass mayonnaise and lime wedges.