I just made this, and I've had a couple of glasses of wine, so although most of the threads in here are questions, I'll share it without being asked, because it's pretty damn good. I found the recipe when looking for a "gambas al ajillo" recipe and now make these much more often.
All you need is:
- 225/275g pack of large peeled and tailed frozen prawns, the kind where you get about 14 prawns. For example these https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/277744283
- Cornflour aka cornstarch (the white powder that squeaks)
- Salt and pepper. Not just for fun: 50 turns of the pepper mill on fine and the same amount of salt.
- Oil for cooking
Method:
- Defrost prawns as slowly as possible. Rinse them and dry with kitchen roll/paper towels. Dry them again. And again. The recipe relies on them being really dry.
- Depending on the brand of prawns, you might want to slit the tails and remove the little black gut thingy.
- Put the prawns in a bowl and give them a final dry with more kitchen paper. Make sure the bowl is completely dry too.
- Start to heat some oil in a pan or wok. Any oil will do. I use half-sunflower, half-sesame. You need the bottom of the pan to be well covered. Get it quite hot.
- Sprinkle 4 or 5 heaped teaspoons of cornflour on the prawns and quickly (but gently) stir them around so they are coated.
- Immediately, with tongs if possible, put the prawns in the hot oil. Do this in a pattern so you can remember which order you put them in. They should sizzle a bit as you add them.
- After a minute, turn the prawns over in the same order that you added them. The cooked side should have a golden-ish crust. Add more oil if the pan gets dry.
- Cook for a further minute. Turn the prawns over again. If necessary give them a few more seconds on each side until you have a nice even golden colour on each one.
- Sprinkle the salt and pepper mixture on the prawns. Remove them from the pan onto whatever you are serving them with.
What you serve them with is up to you. You can just stick in a toothpick and have them as a luxury snack. Here's what I did this evening to make it into dinner (we are not huge eaters):
- Cook a coffee cup-full of basmati rice slowly with 2 coffee cups of water in a non-stick saucepan. 5 minutes from the end, add frozen peas. Put the rice and peas to one side.
- In the same saucepan put 2 teaspoons of olive oil, one shallot (finely sliced), three fat garlic cloves (grated), one 2x2x2cm cube of ginger (grated from frozen), one hot green chilli (chopped). Fry over low heat for 3 minutes.
- Put the rice and peas back in the pan and add 2 tablespoons of rice wine and a pinch of chicken stock. Warm through for two more minutes.
The key to the prawns is to get them really dry, add the cornflour right at the last minute, and have a decent amount of oil, and fairly hot.
Now tell me your best prawn recipes!