I haven’t had a good Fried Assam Prawn dish for a long time until when I visited Makko Teck Neo at Telok Blangah Rise which served up homey Peranakan fare. Really reminded me of Granny’s cooking as she used to make similar assam (a.k.a. tamarind) prawns when I was little so I decided to recreate that familiar taste again. Took me two attempts and I was quite happy with the end result though I thought the prawns could be a little bit more ‘charred’. Nonetheless, the flavour was pretty balanced and these prawns were just moreish. Give the recipe a try!
Fried Assam Prawn Recipe
Ingredients (serves 2-3 as one of few side dishes)
12 prawns approx. 300g, feelers trimmed with shells intact
100g tamarind pulp
50ml warm water
1/3 tsp salt
3-4 dashes of ground white pepper
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sunflower oil
Instructions
1. Put the tamarind, water, salt, pepper and sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir with a spoon.
2. Add the prawns to the tamarind mixture and mix thoroughly. Leave in fridge to marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in pan and add the prawns together with the marinade.
4. Stir fry till the sauce thickens and the prawn shells are slightly burnt.
5. Use a pair of chopsticks or tongs to pick up the prawns and transfer onto a serving plate. Dispose the tamarind seeds and fibres left in the pan.
This is the most love dish in my family, simply and delicious must not forget the rice
Yummy