It was pouring earlier but later, when it stopped raining, I headed out to the Spot Prawn Festival, only to find that everyone else had headed out as well. I seemed to be always in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I did manage to go to one extremely interesting cooking demonstration by Tina Fineza of the Flying Tiger, and got a fabulous recipe for Sambal Spot Prawns.
spot prawns at Granville Island market
The most interesting part of the demo was how Tina emphasized ‘building up flavours’, which echoed what Chef Rossana at my Mexican cooking class emphasized.
Sambal Drunken Prawns
- Start with putting 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots in a pan with oil on medium heat. After a minute or so add 2 tbsp minced garlic and ‘sweat’ (as opposed to browning) the ingredients for another 2 or 3 minutes. (This ‘builds’ a melded flavour layer)
- Add 1/4 cup wine – your favourite Reisling. (This ‘builds’ flavour by deglazing the pan)
- Add 3 tbsp sambal oelek, 2 tbsp salt and 3 tbsp sugar (The sugar ‘builds’ flavour by caramelizing the shallot/garlic mix)
- Reduce liquid for about a minute (This intensifies the flavours)
- Raise heat and add the prawns. Also add 1 tbsp butter. (The butter emulsifies the sauce, whatever that means). In about a minute or so the slight translucency of the prawns turns solid and they are done
- Arrange on a plate
- Further reduce the sauce by half.
- Pour over prawns and garnish with cilantro sprigs. Serve with crusty bread and leftover Reisling