Crisp Prawns with Cashew & Chilli Sauce

Name: Crisp Prawns with Cashew & Chilli Sauce
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 85 g (3 oz/⅔ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; ½ small red capsicum (pepper), diced; a pinch of sea salt; 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) iced water; 3 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch); 3 tablespoons chilli sauce; 1 teaspoon ground white pepper; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 2 tablespoons sugar; vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 1 tablespoon shaoxing; 6 green king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined with tails left intact; ½ small Spanish onion, diced; 3 tablespoons fresh chicken stock; 80 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) cashews, roasted; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar; 2 dried long red chillies, deseeded, deep-fried until black and crisp and broken into small pieces

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Balance and Harmony

By Neil Perry

Published 2008

About

This works well on two fronts: everyone loves crisp prawns, and the sauce can be made in advance and reheated. It’s perfect for a shared table.

Ingredients

6 green king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined with tails left intact
vegetable oil, for deep-frying

Asia
China
Main course

Method

To make the cashew and chilli sauce, heat the oil in a wok until just smoking. Add the capsicum and onion and stir-fry until fragrant, then deglaze the wok with the shaoxing. Add the chilli sauce, sugar, sea salt, white pepper, vinegar, sesame oil and chicken stock to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce has reduced by about a quarter. Sti