Prawns Main Chinese

Chilli prawn noodles

Name: Chilli prawn noodles recipe
Yield: 2
Cuisine: /chinese
Ingredients: 60ml vegetable oil; 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped; 300g green prawns, peeled (tails intact), deveined; 1 tsp sesame seeds; 60ml soy sauce; 2 tsp kecap manis; 62.50 ml roughly chopped coriander, plus extra, to serve; 2 long green shallots, finely chopped; 20.00 ml Chinese black (chinkiang) vinegar; 375g packet fresh lasagne sheets; 1 cucumber, deseeded, sliced into long fine strips, to serve; 45g chilli powder; 4 whole star anise; 1 cinnamon stick; 35g peppercorns; 8 cardamom pods; 2 bay leaves; 250ml oil

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by delicious. team

delicious. team

Jul 17, 2024

"Traditional Chinese hand-pulled noodles are a favourite of mine, but they take a long time to make at home. So I’ve devised a quicker cheat’s version… using fresh lasagne sheets. Technically, these are ‘hand-ripped’ rather than hand-pulled, but the ragged edges give you a similar textural vibe. The key is to not overcook the fresh pasta noodles in the boiling water, so they maintain some body when you stir-fry them." – Marion Grasby.

This recipe is an edited extract from The Essential Wok Companion by Marion Grasby, published by Oriana Press, RRP $70.00. Available exclusively from cookdinehost.com.

1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
300g green prawns, peeled (tails intact), deveined
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup (60ml) light soy sauce
2 tsp kecap manis
1/4 cup roughly chopped coriander, plus extra, to serve
2 long green shallots, finely chopped
1 tbs Chinese black (chinkiang) vinegar
375g packet fresh lasagne sheets
1 cucumber, deseeded, sliced into long fine strips, to serve

Homemade chilli oil (see notes)

1/2 cup (45g) Asian chilli powder (see notes)
4 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup (35g) Sichuan peppercorns (see notes)
8 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 cup (250ml) neutral-tasting oil (peanut, rice bran, vegetable or canola)

Method

1.

For the chilli oil, place the chilli powder and 2 tsp salt flakes in a heatproof jar or bowl. Heat your wok over medium-high heat until warm but not smoking. Toast the star anise, cinnamon stick, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom pods and bay leaves until just starting to smoke. Transfer the contents of your wok into the jar or bowl with the chilli powder.
2.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat until about 165°C (or when you dip a wooden spoon into the oil and furious bubbles form). Carefully pour the hot oil into the jar or bowl (use a ladle or a metal funnel if you’re not confident pouring the hot oil from the saucepan). The oil will bubble and sizzle. Gently give everything a stir. Allow to cool before storing in an airtight jar (see notes).
3.

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring to the boil.
4.

Meanwhile, heat your wok over medium-high heat and, when tendrils of smoke appear, swirl in the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and prawns, then stir-fry for 2-3 minutes until prawns have just started to change from translucent to opaque. Add the sesame seeds and 1/3 cup (80ml) chilli oil. Stir-fry for a few seconds to combine all those flavours, then add the sauces. Stir-fry until just combined and prawns are cooked through and pink. Turn off heat. Toss through the coriander, shallot and black vinegar. Set aside while you cook your noodles.
5.

Rip the lasagne sheets into haphazard-sized noodles roughly 2-3cm wide. Add these to the boiling water. Cook for 2 minutes or until just tender (be careful not to overcook them). Use tongs to transfer the noodles to the prawn mixture in your wok. Turn the heat up to high and toss everything together for 2-3 minutes until everything is beautifully coated.
6.

Transfer into two serving bowls and top with cucumber and extra coriander.

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Recipe Notes

Store homemade chilli oil in a sterilised jar in a cool, dark place in your pantry and use within a year. The longer you leave it, the more the flavours will develop. You can substitute store-bought chilli oil. Sichuan peppercorns are available online or from Asian grocers. Red Sichuan peppercorns are the most widely available, but you can also try green, which are less common but have a more potent flavour. Either is fine to use here. Asian chilli powder has a good mix of both ground dried chilli powder and the seeds from the dried chillies. If your chilli powder is too finely ground and powdery, you won’t get the right texture here. Your best bet is to try sourcing a Thai or Chinese chilli powder from an Asian grocery store.