Iron-Plate Prawns
Korean-style prawns: butterflied and coated in egg and starch, deep-fried until golden, then drizzled with a sweet-sour-spicy chili sauce and shredded scallions.
Ingredients
fresh prawns (trim whiskers and head spines, butterfly along the back, remove the sand vein, and wash)
3 (about 200g)
canned bamboo shoots (sliced)
25g
eggs (beaten, used to coat the prawns)
40g
fine dry starch (dusted onto the prawns)
30g
scallion shreds (peeled, washed, cut into long thin strips)
25g
chicken broth (used as braising liquid)
100ml
cooking wine (part used for marinating — 7.5g)
15g
spicy bean paste (seasoning)
15g
soy sauce (seasoning)
15g
fine salt (for marinating)
1g
MSG (seasoning)
1g
peanut oil (for frying)
750g (60g actually used)
cornstarch slurry (for thickening)
10g
white pepper (for marinating)
1g
sesame oil (drizzled at the end for fragrance)
10g
sugar (mentioned in step 6, not in original ingredient list)
to taste
Instructions
1
Prepare the prawns
Wash the prawns, then use scissors to trim off the whiskers and head spines. At the head spine, use the tip of the scissors to lift out any innards, then cut along the back with the scissors, remove the sand vein, and rinse clean. Slice the canned bamboo shoots and set aside.
2
Cut the scallion shreds
Peel the scallions, wash them, and cut into long thin strips.
3
Butterfly and marinate
Butterfly each prawn along the back, cutting deep toward the belly meat but not all the way through. Flatten them open and lightly score a crosshatch pattern on the cut surface, then sprinkle with the fine salt and white pepper and rub in 7.5g of the cooking wine.
4
Coat with egg and starch
Beat the eggs with chopsticks, dip each prawn through the beaten egg to coat it, then dust both sides of the prawns with the fine dry starch.
5
Deep-fry
Heat a wok over high heat, add the peanut oil, and when it reaches medium-hot (about 150°C / 300°F), slip the prawns in one at a time and fry for 2 minutes until the exterior is golden. Drain in a colander.
6
Build the sauce
Reserve 10g of the oil in the wok, heat it, and stir-fry the scallion shreds until fragrant. Add the remaining cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, spicy bean paste, and chicken broth; stir to combine, then add the fried prawns and the MSG. Simmer briefly until the sauce thickens slightly. Remove the prawns, place on a clean cutting board, cut each into 3 segments, and arrange on a serving plate.
7
Finish with the sauce
Thicken the braising liquid left in the wok with the cornstarch slurry, drizzle in the sesame oil and stir to combine, then pour it over the arranged prawns. Serve immediately.
