Salt & Pepper Prawns

Crisp shell-on prawns tossed in a hot wok with chilli, garlic, spring onion and toasted pepper salt.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 40 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g raw shell-on king prawns (heads on if possible), deveined and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
  • 5 tbsp potato starch or cornflour
  • Vegetable oil, for deep-frying (about 1 litre), plus 1 tbsp for stir-frying
  • For the pepper salt: 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, finely sliced
  • 2 green chillies, finely sliced
  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced

Method

  1. Pat the prawns very dry with kitchen paper. Snip along the backs with scissors and remove the vein, leaving the shells on. Toss with the Shaoxing wine and leave for 10 minutes, then pat dry again.

  2. Toast the Sichuan and black peppercorns in a dry pan for 1 minute until fragrant. Grind with the salt, then stir in the five-spice.

  3. Toss the prawns in the potato starch until evenly coated, shaking off the excess.

  4. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a deep, heavy-based pan to 190°C. Fry the prawns in 3 batches for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until crisp, pink and cooked through. Drain on a wire rack.

  5. Heat the 1 tbsp oil in a wok over a high heat. Stir-fry the garlic, chillies and spring onions for 30 seconds.

  6. Add the prawns and pepper salt and toss for 30 seconds. Serve immediately.