China · Cantonese
Steamed Prawns with Garlic
A Cantonese classic: prawns split from the head, filled with garlic sauce, steamed briefly and finished with a ladle of smoking oil.
The whole dish turns on one step, which is the hot oil poured over the garlic after the prawns come out of the steamer. Raw garlic tastes flat and faintly bitter; the same garlic sizzling in hot oil turns sweet and fragrant in seconds. Cutting only as far as the tail leaves the fan of prawn flesh held together at the end, which is enough when the steaming time is short.
Ingredients
- king prawns8 pieces
- garlic sauce50 g
- cooking oil20 ml
- light soy sauce5 ml
Directions
- 1
Cut down through the middle of the head with a knife, stopping about 1 cm short of the tail.
- 2
Spread the garlic sauce down the centre of each prawn and arrange them on a plate.
- 3
Pour hot water into a wok, put the plate in and steam over high heat for three minutes.
- 4
Heat the oil until smoking, pour it over the prawns and add the light soy sauce.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.