Tiger prawns do not have to be expensive. Buy them raw and frozen from your friendly Chinese cash and carry (restaurant suppliers) and they offer extremely good value and tend to be bigger than the sad little specimens found in your High Street supermarket. I buy them with the shells and vein removed, but with a small piece of the tail shell still attached (for grabbing). Delish!
Today's recipe is straight from the Thai night-market stands that you can find all over the islands. The pickle is quick to make and cuts the richness of these little prawn cakes beautifully.
Buy the largest prawns you can afford - I paid £6.50 per kilo (800g without tail shells). All in, this comes to £6 per serving of 20 cakes, together with the pickle. That's £1.50 per serving of 5 cakes. Unbeatable.
Serves 4 (20 tiger prawn cakes)
Thai Tiger Prawn Cakes
INGREDIENTS:
500g raw tiger prawns (400g net weight, without tail shells)
1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 4
1 large clove of garlic, cut into 2
1 thumb of ginger, cut into 2
1 shallot, peeled and cut in to 4
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 large red chilli, cut into 4
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
5 tablespoons of plain flour
1 egg
Pinches of salt and pepper
Sunflower oil for frying
On a normal setting, blend all ingredients, except for the prawns. Change the blender setting to 'pulse'. Add the prawns and pulse lightly until coarsely chopped (not a smooth paste). Refrigerate the mix until it has firmed-up (1 hour approx). Remove from fridge and using a dessert spoon, form the mix into cakes. In batches, fry in a wok or large pan on a fairly high heat until prawn cakes are golden and crunchy on the outside. Transfer to a roasting dish and keep warm in the oven until all prawn cakes are fried. Serve with the Carrot and Chilli Pickle.
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Carrot and Chilli Pickle
INGREDIENTS:
2 large carrots, peeled and finely grated
2 large chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons of demerara sugar
Pinch of celery seed
Pinches of salt and pepper
5-6 fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
Combine all of the ingredients (not the fresh coriander) and leave in the refigerator for flavours to infuse and amalgamate (2 hours approx). Tear the coriander leaves and sprinkle on top, just before serving.
Today's recipe is straight from the Thai night-market stands that you can find all over the islands. The pickle is quick to make and cuts the richness of these little prawn cakes beautifully.
Buy the largest prawns you can afford - I paid £6.50 per kilo (800g without tail shells). All in, this comes to £6 per serving of 20 cakes, together with the pickle. That's £1.50 per serving of 5 cakes. Unbeatable.
Serves 4 (20 tiger prawn cakes)
Thai Tiger Prawn Cakes
INGREDIENTS:
500g raw tiger prawns (400g net weight, without tail shells)
1 stalk of lemon grass, cut into 4
1 large clove of garlic, cut into 2
1 thumb of ginger, cut into 2
1 shallot, peeled and cut in to 4
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 large red chilli, cut into 4
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)
5 tablespoons of plain flour
1 egg
Pinches of salt and pepper
Sunflower oil for frying
On a normal setting, blend all ingredients, except for the prawns. Change the blender setting to 'pulse'. Add the prawns and pulse lightly until coarsely chopped (not a smooth paste). Refrigerate the mix until it has firmed-up (1 hour approx). Remove from fridge and using a dessert spoon, form the mix into cakes. In batches, fry in a wok or large pan on a fairly high heat until prawn cakes are golden and crunchy on the outside. Transfer to a roasting dish and keep warm in the oven until all prawn cakes are fried. Serve with the Carrot and Chilli Pickle.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Carrot and Chilli Pickle
INGREDIENTS:
2 large carrots, peeled and finely grated
2 large chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons of demerara sugar
Pinch of celery seed
Pinches of salt and pepper
5-6 fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
Combine all of the ingredients (not the fresh coriander) and leave in the refigerator for flavours to infuse and amalgamate (2 hours approx). Tear the coriander leaves and sprinkle on top, just before serving.
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