Szechwan Prawns

This is a snack that can be prepared in a jiffy and yet tastes very delicious.

Ingredients

For the Marination

• Salt as per taste
• 1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

Other Ingredients

• 200 gm of cleaned and deveined prawns
• 2 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger
• 3 tbsp of szhechwan sauce
• ½ tsp of black pepper powder
• 1 medium onion thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp of chopped spring onions (optional)
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp of vegetable oil
• ½ tsp of dark soy sauce
• ½ tsp Red chilly paste (increase this to make the dish spicier) – to prepare red chilly paste, blanch whole dry red chillies in hot water for about 15 min, drain them and then grind to a fine paste.

Method

• For Marination
• Wash and pat dry the prawns
• Marinate the prawns with salt and lemon juice and refrigerate for 30 min
• Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a wok
• Once the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic and chopped ginger. Keep stirring them on high heat for a minute (they should not turn brown)
• Add the onion and sauté till the onion turns translucent
• Add the prawns
• Add the Szechwan sauce, black pepper powder, soy sauce, red chilly paste and salt
•  Stir fry the prawns on high heat for two minutes until they are cooked and coated with the spices. Take care not to overcook the prawns as overcooking makes them rubbery.
• Throw in the spring onions and serve hot.

Note

If you use store bought Szechwan sauce, check the hotness of it and adjust the quantities of Szechwan sauce and red chilly paste to provide the level of spiciness you want to the dish. The prominent taste of this dish comes from Szechwan sauce. I make my own Szechwan sauce.