Chinese🐟 Seafood

Garlic Butter Prawns

Name: Garlic Butter Prawns
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ~1 lb Fresh prawns; ~6-8 cloves Garlic cloves; ~4 tbsp Butter; ~2 tbsp Cornstarch; ~½ cup Mineral-rich tap water; ~¾ cups Prawn stock; ~3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine; ~1 tbsp Fish sauce; ~1 tsp Sugar; ~½ tsp Salt; ~1 Onion; ~1½ tbsp Cornstarch

A classic Chinese restaurant-style sizzling dish featuring prawns cooked in garlic butter sauce. Seasoned with multiple layers of flavor using salt, fish sauce, Chinese cooking wine, and sugar to showcase traditional Chinese cooking techniques, served on a hot cast iron plate.

High-proteinLow-cal

Adapted from a video by Adam Liaw

Chinese-style Garlic Butter Prawns | Easy Wok Dish | Adam Liaw's Roadtrip For Good

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Fresh prawns~1 lbest.
Garlic cloves~6-8 clovesest.
Butter~4 tbspest.
CornstarchFor velveting the prawns~2 tbspest.
Mineral-rich tap waterFor velveting the prawns~½ cupest.
Prawn stockMade from prawn heads and shells~¾ cupsest.
Chinese cooking wine~3 tbspest.
Fish sauce~1 tbspest.
SugarA touch

Steps

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1
Prepare the prawns by peeling and removing the shells while keeping the heads intact. Butterfly each prawn by cutting along the back and removing the intestinal vein. Place the heads and shells in boiling water to make stock.
2
Velvet the prawns by mixing cornstarch with mineral-rich tap water to create a slightly alkaline solution. Gently massage this mixture into the prawns and let them rest. This process tenderizes the meat by preventing proteins from bonding too tightly.
3
Prepare the garlic butter sauce by roughly chopping the garlic into larger pieces to prevent burning. Heat butter over medium-low heat and add the chopped garlic, infusing the oil with garlic aroma while keeping the garlic from browning too much.
4
Season the garlic butter by adding prawn stock, Chinese cooking wine, fish sauce, and a touch of sugar. Mix well and taste to ensure proper seasoning with salt.
5
Preheat the cast iron sizzling plate over heat and lightly oil the surface.
6
Oil-blanch the prawns by quickly flash-frying them in hot oil until partially cooked, then remove and drain to prevent overcooking on the hot plate.
7
Combine the oil-blanched prawns with the garlic butter sauce and toss together. Arrange sliced onion on the hot plate to keep the prawns elevated, then pour the prawns and sauce over.
8
Finish the sauce by making an emulsion with cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce. Serve immediately on the sizzling hot plate.

Garlic Butter Prawns

Ingredients

Steps

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