This Chili Prawn recipe is another restaurant-style favorite that reminds me of the shrimp dishes served at Chinese restaurants. It is spicy, slightly tangy, and coated with a flavorful sauce made with soy sauce, chili sauce, ginger, garlic, and vinegar.
The shrimp cooks very quickly, making this an easy dish to prepare once the marination is done. It pairs especially well with fried rice and makes a tasty Indo-Chinese-style side dish.
Chilli Prawns / Chili Shrimp
Recipe Details
Starter / Side Dish
Indo-Chinese
Sashi
20 minutes
20 minutes
40 minutes
2
Allow an additional 1 hour for marination.
Ingredients
For Marination
- Fresh or frozen shrimp / Prawns – 1 packet (20–25 count, medium-sized)
- Ginger – 1/2 tsp, finely chopped
- Garlic – 1/2 tsp, finely chopped
- Soy sauce – 2 tsp
- Corn flour / Cornstarch – 1/2 tsp
- Red chili sauce – 3 tsp
- Sugar – 1/2 tsp
- Vinegar – 1 tsp
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
- Red food color – 1/8 tsp (optional)
For Stir-Frying
- Oil – 3 tsp
- Onion – 1 medium, chopped
- Green chilies – 3, slit
- Spring onions – 4 stalks, chopped
Preparation
- Clean and devein the shrimp. Remove the shells and tails if desired, then pat dry.
- Cut the shrimp into smaller pieces if preferred.
- Finely chop the ginger and garlic.
- Add the shrimp to a bowl along with the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, corn flour, red chili sauce, sugar, vinegar, salt, and optional red food color.
- Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
- Chop the onion and spring onions and slit the green chilies.
Cooking Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide pan or wok over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onion and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add the slit green chilies and fry briefly.
- Add the marinated shrimp along with all of the marinade.
- Stir-fry over medium-high heat, stirring frequently so the sauce does not stick or burn.
- Continue cooking until the shrimp is completely cooked and the excess moisture has evaporated, leaving the pieces well coated with the sauce.
- Add the chopped spring onions at the end.
- Toss briefly, remove from the heat, and serve immediately.
Tips
Do Not Overcook: Shrimp cooks very quickly. Overcooking can make it firm and rubbery, so remove it from the heat as soon as it is cooked through.
High-Heat Cooking: Stir-frying over medium-high heat helps the sauce reduce quickly while keeping the shrimp tender.
Food Color: Red food color is optional and can be skipped without affecting the flavor.
Spice Level: Adjust the red chili sauce and green chilies according to your preferred level of heat.
Serving Suggestion
Serve Chili Prawns hot with vegetable fried rice, egg fried rice, noodles, or another Indo-Chinese main dish.
Recipe Source: Based on a recipe from SpiceIndiaOnline.
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