Asian Recipes and Cooking Guide

Cooking Tips, Kitchen Skills and Recipes.....

Also called prawns. One and the same creature, the only distinction being one of size, and even that depends on which continent you are on. North Americans call them all shrimp, but in Britain and its colonies the name 'shrimp' is reserved for those of small size, while larger specimens are called 'prawns'.

Small or large, they are one of the most popular crustaceans in Asia, valued for their sweet meat and enticing flavor. They may be caught in salt water, fresh water, rivers, dams, and increasingly they are being farmed. It is better to buy them fresh and raw rather than cooked, as more flavor is retained. In some inland areas, though, only cooked shrimps are available. In this case, add them to the dish at the last stage of cooking, only to heat through. Overcooking is to be avoided as this makes shrimps tough.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1.25 kg (2.5 lb) raw king shrimps

4 spring onions, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon sambal oelek

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2/3 cup (110 g) chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Method:

Peel and devein the shrimps, leaving only the tails intact. Combine the shrimps with spring onion, garlic, ginger, sambal oelek, coriander, turmeric, lemon rind, lemon juice and peanuts. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Heat the oil in a frying pan; add the shrimp mixture and stir-fry over high heat for about 3 minutes or until the shrimps are cooked. Serve with rice.

Happy Cooking,

Carol