Cook at home Kung Pao Prawns

If you fancy takeaway vibes but prefer to cook it yourself at home, try this very simple recipe for Kung Pao prawns courtesy of Olive Magazine with my personal variation. You can buy the prawns from Viviers UK in Camber Dock in Old Portsmouth.

The dish allegedly received its name because it was frequently served to Dīng Bǎozhēn (1820-86), a Qing dynasty official who served as the governor of Sichuan province from 1876 to 1886. His unofficial title was gōng bǎo, meaning 'palace guardian'.

The Sichuan peppercorns used in this dish gives a distinctive aroma and flavour. You can find the Sichuan pepper easily at the local Chinese grocery stores.

The recipe takes 10 minutes to cook and for 2 people requires:

150g raw prawns (300g in shell yields 150g, or 14 prawns)
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
2 tablespoon cashew nuts
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
4 spring onion, sliced

For the sauce, mix the following:
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
100 ml water

Heat the pan and fry the cashew dry for a couple of minutes. Remove. Heat the oil and fry the ginger, garlic, spring onions, chilli and Sichuan pepper for 2 minutes. Then add the sauce, prawns and cashew nuts and cook for 3 minutes, or until the prawns are pink and cooked. The sauce should also be lightly thick.

Serve with fluffy plain rice and simply fried vegetables like bak choy or broccoli.

It's quite spicy, but delightful!

Comments

‘Southsea dinosaur’ returns

Luna Park 2021, an eagerly anticipated new public artwork for Portsmouth designed by internationally renowned artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak of Studio Morison will be launched on 2 October 2021 on a celebratory day in Southsea Common. The 1.4 metres bronze sculpture is a tribute to the original 53-foot high 2010 artwork Luna Park, which tragically burned down on Southsea Common. The artists will unveil a new sculpture that responds to ten years of public demand to ‘bring back the Southsea Dinosaur’. The new public artwork will be located within a direct sightline to the position of the original Luna Park sculpture. It will sit on top of a fossil Portland stone plinth with a QR code which when scanned with a smartphone will connect to an Augmented Reality experience. People will be transported to a digital rendering of the original artwork, seemingly standing life-size in front of them on Southsea Common. Viewers will also be able to use their mobile devices to visit a...

Delicious thinly sliced pork in Korean marinade

Sometimes you found a recipe and wrote it down on a piece of paper to try it out. Having done that, you forget where the recipe came from. Likewise this Korean recipe for pork, which turned out to be so delicious we have cooked it for everyone. The marinade is simple to make and yet really packed with flavours. For the Korean marinade you need 3 garlic cloves 1/2 brown onion 1/2 a pear or apple Blitz these ingredients together and then add 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons mirin black pepper For dinner for 2 people, 200g pork tenderloin is enough. Slice this thinly, and bash it to an even thinner piece with a meat mallet. Marinade in the sauce and leave it in the fridge for an hour. Then heat a frying pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and fry the thin pork pieces until browned. You want some of the edges of the meat to be dark brown and caramelised, if you can. Don't cook too many pieces or ...

I Am Only Human After All film premiere

Portsmouth Film Society (PFS) continues to deliver on its mission to help break down social barriers and unite diverse cultures with the premieres of four short films on 30 May at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Portsmouth citizens from all backgrounds have come together to tell their stories. Many people will be able to identify with the difficult subjects of these films; homelessness, substance misuse and recovery, disability and multiculturalism. Whether they have experience of these topics themselves, or only in passing, PFS hopes that projects like these will encourage discussion amongst their viewers. These short films are the result of a 20-week course held at the University of Portsmouth where participants were introduced to all aspects of film-making including script writing, casting, directing, filming and editing. They then became the producers, directors, screenwriters and actors in their own films. The program also included lectures by local film makers and an...

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog