Korean-Style Prawn Cocktail
Colm O'Gorman is fond of his Korean cuisine - and this is a unique take on a fishy favourite!
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
30
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
40
MINUTES
Ingredients
350g fresh raw king prawns
30ml rice wine or sherry 2 cloves garlic 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp Soy Sauce 150g corn flour or potato flour
1 litre sunflower oil
Cocktail sauce
100g mayonnaise
50g gochujang
To Serve:
12 crisp leaves of little gem lettuce
1/3 of a cucumber
1 red chilli
Some toasted sesame seeds
Method
Grate two cloves of garlic into a bowl. Add the grated ginger, rice wine, and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine.
Add the raw king prawns and stir well to get them fully coated in the marinade. Let them marinate for about thirty minutes.
Make the sauce. Just pop the mayonnaise and gochujang into a bowl and whisk the combine them thoroughly.
Wash the lettuce leaves, finely slice the chilli. Set aside now while you cook the prawns.
Heat the sunflower oil to 180c in a large saucepan or wok.
Place a wire rack over a baking tray or line it with kitchen paper. Put the potato flour or cornflour onto a wide plate or pasta bowl.
Dredge the prawns a few at a time in the flour. Carefully lower them into the hot fat, again, a few at a time. I usually cook eight to ten at a time depending upon the size of the pan I am using. Do not crowd the pan, instead cook the prawns in batches. They will cook very quickly, for this first fry they only need one minute.
Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove them from the pan and pop them on the wire rack or kitchen paper to drain as you give the remaining prawns their first fry.
Check the temperature of the oil between batches as it can cool down a little as it cooks each batch. Make sure to bring the temperature back up to 180 Celsius before your fry another batch. This is crucial if you want golden and crispy prawns.
When you have given all the prawns their first fry, get the oil back to 180 Celsius again and pop all the prawns back in, this time for just thirty seconds.
After thirty seconds remove the prawns from the oil and let them drain on the wire rack or some fresh kitchen towel as you prepare your plates.
Arrange three leaves of lettuce on each plate, and scatter over some of the diced cucumber. Pile one quarter of the prawns on the lettuce leaves with a wedge of lime on the side.
Scatter the toasted sesame seeds and some thinly slices fresh red chilli on top.
Serve with the sauce on the side.
