Prawns done thai style

Wanted to cook some prawns (saw the recipe in my cookbook) over the weekend so I did my due diligence in getting the prawns, the lemongrass, etc etc.



Then when I was preparing dinner, to my horror, my cookbook was missing. I still had no idea where it went so I shelved the idea for the day, chuck the prawns back into the fridge and did what I could with the rest of the dishes.



The next day, I literally hunt for the cookbook. Alas, it was not even at my facourite place for stashing cookbooks aka the loo. *sigh* So, I search the internet for a recipe, trying to look for something I had already in mind. In the end, I just mish mash the ideas I had from the internet and did my own thing (which probably isn't anything new). Amazingly, it turned pretty good!



Fako Thai Style Prawns



250g prawns (medium to large works best - less cleaning to do!)
- you have to shell (leaving the tails intact), butterfly* and devein them. Drain and leave aside.
* to butterfly a prawn, just turn it on its side, slice along the spine, open up and flatten it.


2 stalks of lemongrass
- peel off the outer layers until you can smell the aroma.
- cut the lemongrass into 2 sections, white and green.
- finely chop the white section - put aside in a small glass/ ceramic mixing bowl.
- cut the green sections into 2 inch lengths - put aside.


4 bunches of coriander leaves
- wash thoroughly, including the roots.
- slice the roots from the leaves. Chop the roots and 2 bunches of leaves finely. Add to the mixing bowl.
- roughly chop the remaining 2 bunches and put aside.


4 chilli padis
- wash and chop finely. Add to mixing bowl.


1 cm knob of ginger
- peel and chop finely. Add to mixing bowl.

Add approximately 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to the mixing bowl. Mix well.

Divide the paste into portions as required - depending on how many prawns you get for 250g!


Take a portion and spread it along the cut spine. Do not use bare hands as the chilli in the paste will make your hands smart! Repeat until all the prawns have been "stuffed". Place in a glass or ceramic bowl/ plate.



There will be some liquid left in the mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the bowl and then drizzle over the prawns.


Let the prawns marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking it.


To cook:
1. Heat 3 tablespoon of oil and add the green sections of the lemongrass.
2. Fry till fragrant and add the prawns. The paste will fall out of the prawn's spine, but it's ok.
3. Fry till the prawns is almost cooked and then add in the remaining coriander leaves.



I personally will fry till some of the paste turn golden in the pan before I off the fire, but it's your own preference!

Sorry, no pics of the done prawns - the ones that you see above are in my fridge now! The ones I did over the weekend are already out of my system :P I'll see if I remember to take some pics tomm!