Gong Bao Prawns

In honor of Chinese New Year (it's my year! Year of the Ox!), we went with one of our old favorites done in a new way. Specifically, Gong Bao (also known as 'Kung Pao') Prawns. We usually do this with chicken but we had this recently with prawns and it was unbelievable.

This recipe is taken from Fuschia Dunlop, whom regular readers of this blog know is a completely legitmate Sichuan-trained cook. We double the marinade and sauce proportions and use some brown sugar in place of some of the sugar called for.

I wished I had a second bowl of this. The prawns were fresh from the fishmonger, raw and awesome. They came out with this great sweetness against the spiciness of the dish. The brown sugar in the sauce is the X-factor. Use a nice, rich, dark brown sugar. I have printed the recipe here which takes into account my little modifications.

I did a quick pot of rice which I seasoned with star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and five-spice powder.

All of the Asian ingredents can easily be found in a good Asian market and should last you awhile.

350 g raw prawns, peeled and deveined
3 cloves of garlic and an equivalent amount of fresh ginger
5 spring onions, white parts only
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
a good handful of dried Sichuanese chillies (at least 10)
1 teaspoon whole Sichuan pepper
75 g roasted peanuts

MARINADE
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
3 teaspoons potato flour
1 tablespoon water

SAUCE
4 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon potato flour
2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoon light soy sauce
6 teaspoons Chinkiang or Chinese vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons water

Place the prawns in a small bowl and mix in the marinade ingredients.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic and ginger, and chop the spring onions into chunks as long as their diameter (to match the prawns). Snip the chillies in half or into 1.5cm sections. Discard their seeds as far as possible.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl - if you dip your finger in you can taste the sweet-sour base of the gong baa flavour.

Season the wok, then add 2 tablespoons of oil and heat over a high flame. When the oil is hot but not yet smoking, add the chillies and Sichuan pepper and stir-fry briefly until they are crisp and the oil is spicy and fragrant. Take care not to burn the spices (you can remove the wok from the heat if necessary to prevent overheating).

Quickly add the prawns and fry over a high flame, stirring constantly. When the prawns are beginning to turn pink, add the ginger, garlic and spring onions and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes until they are fragrant and the prawns is cooked through (test one of the larger pieces to make sure).

Give the sauce a stir and add it to the wok, continuing to stir and toss. As soon as the sauce has become thick and lustrous, add the peanuts, stir them in, and serve.