Prawns with salted egg yolk and curry leaves by Phay Shing Tan

Prawns with salted egg yolk and curry leaves by Phay Shing Tan

 (Adapted from Nasi Lemak Lover http://nasilemaklover.blogspot.sg/2012/01/deep-fried-prawns-with-salted-egg-yolk.html)

 
Ingredients:

300g medium or large prawns (about 10 prawns with heads on)

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp cornstarch

A dash of white pepper

1/3 cup (or 50g) corn flour, for deep frying

2 salted duck egg yolks, steamed for 8 minutes and mashed (feel free to use 3 or 4 yolks instead of 2. I used only 2 to avoid wastage of salted egg whites which I used for another dish.)

10g (or 1 tbsp) unsalted butter

1 sprig curry leaves

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp sugar 

Method:

1. Wash the prawns, remove the heads and shells. You can choose to peel or leave the shell at the tails intact. De-vein the prawns using a toothpick by sliding the point of a toothpick near the tail underneath the vein, then gently pull the vein out. Pat dry with paper towels.

2. Mix prawns with salt, egg, cornstarch and pepper, and marinate for 1 hour.

3. Heat enough oil in a wok, dust marinated prawns with corn flour, deep fry over high until golden brown (less than a minute, do not overcook).

4. Reserve about 1 tbsp of the oil used for deep frying and add butter over medium high heat. Saute chopped garlic and curry leaf till fragrant.

5. Add salted egg yolk and sugar, stir constantly to prevent mixture from burning. Once the mixture bubbles, add deep fried prawns. Stir-fry briskly to coat with the sauce. Serve immediately and enjoy!

** I just deep-fried the marinated prawn heads without stir-frying with the salted egg yolk. Feel free to add 1 chopped small chilli to the stir-fry if you prefer it to be spicy.