Sweet and Spicy Prawns

I am not really a fan of prawns especially if they are cooked in their shells. I don't like getting my hands dirty peeling them especially at the restaurant. But then again, prawns are a big thing during Chinese New Year for most people. And if you shell them first, they kind of shrink and won't look presentable for some dishes.

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the occasional prawn but I am just not super crazy about them. That is why when I saw this  Sweet and Spicy Prawns on K. Nor's blog, I just had to try it because it looked marvelous, just the sort of dish to serve for Chinese New Year.

Just to side track a little bit. During the MFF Terengganu event, K. Nor and I found out that we were primary school classmates. I still have our class photo when we were in standard 5  but I promised K. Nor that I would not show that photo to anyone else :) I enjoy reading her blog as Nor (we are the same age so I'm not supposed to call her Kak... hee..hee...) is still the same girl full of humour. She never fails to make me laugh. I am happy that my friend has a happy family and she has turned out to be an accomplished cook.

Now back to the marvelous prawns. Nor adapted her recipe from Gertrude's Sweet and Spicy Crabs and if you are a crab fan, do hop over. Me and crabs don't exactly get along, so I'll settle for the prawns. I find that this dish is delicious as the combination of garlic and ginger always works beautifully. The addition of a beaten egg at the last step makes the gravy very creamy and thick. However, after cooking this dish, I think I would prefer it without the egg although I did enjoy the creamy sauce. The dish was not spicy (hot) as I de-seeded the chilli.

Sweet and Spicy Prawns
Recipe source : Adapted from Secubit Garam (originally from My Kitchen Snippets)

Ingredients :
- 400g prawns (20 medium sized prawns)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch ginger minced
- 1 red chilli, de-seeded and minced
- 3 sprigs spring onions, cut into 1/4 inch length
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 red chilli, sliced (optional, I added this at the end)

For sauce :
- 4 tablespoons tomato ketchup
- 3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 2 tablespoons black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornflour dissolved in 2 tablespoons of water

Garnishing (optional)
- some tomato slices
- some corriander leaves

Method :
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
2. Rinse the prawns and trim the feelers.
3. Heat oil in wok and saute the garlic, ginger and chilli until aromatic and garlic is slightly brown.
4. Add prawns and fry until prawns turn red.
5. Add sauce, cover the wok and lower heat.
6. Simmer for about 5 minutes until sauce is thick.
7. Drizzle in beaten egg and give it a good stir.
8. Add spring onions and sliced chilli and stir to mix.
9. Garnish with tomato slices and corriander. Serve immediately.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.