(Two Ways with Prawns: Golden Prawns and Salad Prawns)
Salad shrimp has a refreshing, light texture, while golden shrimp is crispy and crunchy with a beautiful golden-brown color.
Golden Prawns and Salad Prawns are two classic ways to enjoy prawns, and neither is too difficult to prepare, so I combined them to create this "Two-Way Prawns" dish. This approach is especially fitting for festive occasions—in Cantonese cuisine, Salad Prawns are often served as a cold appetizer, refreshing, beautiful, and elegant; fried prawns are also a crowd-pleaser, with a wonderfully crispy and crunchy texture. When these two plates of prawns are brought to the table, they are sure to steal the spotlight!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Large prawns - as many as needed
The shrimp should be large, with firm-shelled chilled fresh shrimp being the best choice.
Additional Ingredients
bread crumbs to taste
Salad dressing, to taste
Seasonings
to taste
black pepper, coarsely ground, to taste
1 egg
1 fresh lemon
Seasonings
Instructions
Instructions
Marinate the shrimp
Step 1: Take half of the prawns, remove the heads, shells, and keep the tails intact. Butterfly each prawn by slicing lengthwise along the back without cutting all the way through, then devein (Image 2). Marinate with black pepper, salt, and freshly squeezed lemon juice, mixing well (Image 3).
When slicing the shrimp, cut slightly deeper; otherwise, they won't lie flat.
*Be sure to choose high-quality lemons for the best aromatic flavor.
Boil the shrimp
Step 2: Bring water to a boil in a wok, add the remaining deveined prawns and blanch until cooked through (Image 4), then remove and drain (Image 5).
*Cooking the shrimp with the shells on helps retain moisture in the meat, resulting in a better texture.
*The exact cooking time for the shrimp depends on their size; the rule is to slightly undercook rather than overcook to ensure a crisp, bouncy texture.
After the blanched prawns have cooled, remove the heads and shells, then slice each prawn in half lengthwise (Image 6) and arrange neatly on a plate for later use.
*If you want the salad shrimp to have a better texture, prepare a bowl of ice water with ice cubes, and immediately place the blanched shrimp in the ice water to chill for a while.
Deep-fried Prawns
④ Dip the marinated tail-on shrimp meat into the egg wash, then coat evenly with breadcrumbs (Image 7).
*If you can't find panko breadcrumbs, you can buy a plain loaf of bread, break it apart, and rub it into crumbs to use as a substitute.
⑤ Pour plenty of oil into a wok and heat to 350°F (180°C). Add the breadcrumb-coated shrimp and deep-fry over medium heat until golden brown on the surface, then remove from the wok (Image 8).
When deep-frying, the oil temperature must not be too low, otherwise the shrimp will cook too long and the breadcrumbs will absorb excess oil, making them greasy. Also note that shrimp cooks very quickly, so with high oil temperature, remove them as soon as the surface turns golden brown—do not over-fry.
Arrange on a serving plate.
Step 6: Pipe salad dressing over the blanched shrimp and serve ketchup alongside the fried shrimp. Ready to serve.
Take your shrimp dish to the next level.
Bottled salad dressing is tasty, but it can be even better with a few additions. Simply spoon some bottled dressing into a bowl, add a little milk, sugar, and fresh lemon juice, then whisk quickly in one direction until smooth. Use all three sparingly: too much milk will thin it out and ruin the appearance; too much sugar will overpower the flavor; and just a few drops of lemon juice are enough for the aroma—any more will make it sour. If you also add some ketchup, onion, celery, carrot, and diced pickled cucumber, you'll have Thousand Island dressing.