25
2013
Nyonya Assam Prawn Recipe
I used to cook this dish when I was courting Darling decades ago but ever since we got married I don’t remember ever serving him this until today :)
I’ve forgotten how to cook it that I had to call my mother to make sure. Unlike some other Nyonya Assam Prawn (especially the Penang version) where the prawn are fried until dry and a bit burnt, my mom’s is the wet version. I remembered as a child I loved to drench my rice with the thick tamarind gravy. It makes an extremely appetizing meal.
I bought about 200gm of prawns from Jusco. Well I don’t go to wet markets so the only place I get my stuffs is here.
I must say my assam prawn turned out OKAY! *pat pat on the back* Haha!
So here’s the ingredients. I’m unsure about the measurement though as I just used what I feel is right. A nyonya doesn’t cook with a kitchen scale anyway …
Ingredients:
Prawn (with the shell intact)
Tamarind pulp with seeds
Sugar
Pepper
Method:
Add water to tamarind and press the pulp and seeds to get thick tamarind extract.
Remove the pulp and seeds.
Add sugar and pepper.
Stir well.
Add prawn and marinate for at least 3 hours.
What I did was to prepare this at night before I go to bed and keep them in the meat compartment in the fridge without freezing them. In the morning I can just take it out and start cooking!
Heat a wok with just enough oil.
Fry the prawns quickly. Remove from wok.
Add the marinate into the wok and let boil until it thickens.
Once thicken, taste it. You may want to add some salt if you like. Add some more sugar if it is too sour.Â
When you think you got the gravy right, add the prawns back in and toss until they are all coated with the thick gravy.
Dish out and serve with white rice. This tangy assam prawn dish with a mixture of sweet and savory is really appetizing, I just want to lick the prawns and suck the head before peeling them! >_<
can i go ur house and eat the prawns? :P
Me too, I wanna come and eat the prawns! :D
Sedap oi! Hahaha :D Support Nyonya! :D
Nyonya style is not my taste and I don’t like prawns. If my gf cook this for me, I’ll give her the WTF face. -____-
I like!!!!! But I prefer the soupy version – can pour the soup all over the rice and eat…sure will tambah extra plate one. Slurpssss!!!!! Yum! Yum!
Eh…looks simple…I wanna try!
BTW, how much tamarind did you use?
I think it is about 2 tablespoons?
I’m drooling over the prawn even though I just had a heavy lunch…
Nice and simple recipe :D Would try it soon!
wah yummy assam prawn. The recipe is simple too.
Looks so delish and pretty simple to cook. If only I can find fresh assam in china…
Looks good Merryn, thanks, now I know how your husband got courted by Merryn.