Today I managed to lay my hands on local Penang prawns .
From Teluk Kumbar to be exact .
The colouring is a little bit like Pak Har ( white transparent species ) but as you can see , there are tinges of pink , orange and that all defining yellow .
If it is all orange or all yellow , please avoid purchasing those . That's not natural , these specimens below are .
Because they were quite large , and the price was agreeable , I purchased around 16 to 18 numbers for just 30 ringgit .
Cheap right ?
However , just like Pak Har ( both have tiny specs of spots , most noticeable on the darker bands of their body ) , they are not known for a full bodied flavour .
A waste to grill 'em or cook them in coconut cream curries . You can cook these in a light and sourish pineapple curry , still , the best way to cook this is to either chuck it in a suicidal bowl of very hot , thick and sour Southern Thai tomyam ...
or to steam it .
Which is why I'm steaming them tonight .
Real Malaysian home cooking is not known for attractive presentation ( great for lazy people like muah ) . Hope that explains the mangled mess below . Great taste is of utmost importance though you get weirdos who think tasteless foods are healthier fortunately I am not one of them . If my food is not tasty , I'll be inclined to think that I am a failed cook .
Anyway , the recipe is fairly simple , I just chuck all of the following ingredients into a clay pot ....
Tons of thinly sliced Bentong old ginger ( oh yeah ) , generous layer of chopped garlic , lots of Shaoxing wine , iodised sea salt , sesame oil .
Put the entire claypot into a rice cooker ( ya , I don't like to use a steamer or the wok for this purpose since the water in the rice cooker does not evaporate as fast as those two earlier steaming options I mentioned ) that is filled with water , place the claypot on top of a stainless steel steaming platform and cover the cooker .
When you can actually smell the wine wafting out , it's done .
Add chopped spring onions and coriander leaves , another chug of Shaoxing wine ,
cover that for a bit ( do not allow the leaf to turn brown , make sure it is still green )
Serve .
Those who enjoyed this with me , gave me a 10.5 out of 10 for this ( wow , not bad , little pat on the back for me ) .
As you can see , you don't really need a lot of cooking know how . Me , I just throw everything in and let it self cook till the scent escapes from under the rice cooker cover .
You MUST however , make sure that you can lay your hands on the freshest prawns possible .
In my case , Teluk Kumbar is on the other side of the island where I live , so that definitely makes it easier.
Location : Penang
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