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Preparation time
overnight
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Cooking time
10 to 30 mins
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Serves
Serves 4
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By Matt Tebbutt
From Saturday Kitchen[row]
Ingredients
For the sugar-cured prawns
- 350g/12oz raw king prawns, peeled and cut down the back
- 75g/2½oz caster sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 limes, zest only
For the sweet potatoes
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- sea salt, to season
For the coriander butter
- 100g/3½oz salted butter, softened
- 1 small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
For the hot and sour pineapple
- 40g/1½oz palm sugar
- 20ml/¾fl oz white wine vinegar
- 30g/1oz chilli paste
- 30ml/1fl oz fish sauce
- 3 limes, juice only
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 small pineapple (or 3 slices of a large one), cut into fingers
To serve
- 150ml/5fl oz crème fraîche
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves
- 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Method
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Combine the prawns with the sugar, salt and lime zest. Cover and leave to cure in the fridge overnight.
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To make the sweet potatoes, pour the vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pan (or a deep-fat fryer) and heat to 180C, or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in 15 seconds. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Deep-fry the sweet potato in batches, frying for about 1 minute each time until the sweet potato turns golden and crispy. Remove each batch, drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt whilst still hot.
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To make the coriander butter, mix the soft butter with the coriander in a small bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until later.
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To make the hot and sour pineapple, combine the palm sugar, white wine vinegar, chilli paste, fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger and toasted sesame oil in a small saucepan and reduce over a medium heat until sticky.
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Preheat your grill to hot, or put a griddle pan over a high heat. Chargrill the pineapple on all sides until blackened and soft, then combine the chargrilled pineapple with the sticky hot and sour sauce. Keep warm until ready to serve.
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Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Remove the prawns from the cure and pat dry. Cook the prawns in the dry, hot frying pan for 2–3 minutes or until cooked through.
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Melt the coriander butter in a small saucepan over a low heat.
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To serve, spoon some crème fraîche onto the plates and dress with the pineapple and prawns. Garnish with coriander, spring onions, sesame seeds and red chilli. Drizzle with a little sesame oil, and finish with the melted butter and the fried sweet potatoes.