My Easy Salted Egg Prawn was inspired by my visit to Singapore and dining in a Hawker centre. These prawns are seriously finger-licking good!
Singapore Salted Egg Prawn
It was a humid and stinky hot day in Singapore, so much that our clothes were uncomfortably stuck to our skin from sweat. My husband Tomasi was on a mission to get us to a specific Hawker Centre, he relied solely on the maps on his phone to get us there. Like annoying tourists, we kept stopping every few minutes to find our bearings.
‘Let’s just eat there!’ I hissed annoyedly pointing to a random eatery. Tomasi promised me that we were close by but he also said the same thing 30 minutes ago.
By the time we found Tomasi’s Hawker Centre we were hardly speaking to each other out of frustration. It was loud, busy and crowded, most of the tables were occupied. As soon as we spotted an empty table we threw our bags down. Tomasi said he would mind the table so I could select our food for us as I am the ‘picker eater’.
My frustrations disappeared when the delicious aroma of Singaporean flavours delighted my senses. Tomasi wanted to try Fish Head Curry, as I was ordering this for him I saw they had Salted Egg Prawns. I was intrigued as I’ve only had salted eggs in mooncakes and sweet buns.
There we were sitting and eating on plastic chairs and table almost dying from heatstroke but all that was forgotten when we tasted the Salted Egg Prawns.
We went straight to food heaven, the prawns were rich, buttery, spicy, sweet with subtle curry flavour. The salted eggs provide a delicious and unique taste with a slightly grainy texture.
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Exotic made easily at home
Recreating dishes from places I have visited is something I do quite often. Being able to make a simple version at home that tastes just as good is both fulfilling and rewarding.
I spend time studying the background of the dish and the ingredients, then I’ll trial recipes until I have created my own. This process means I would usually simplify the ingredients and process so it’s easy to make at home but without compromising on the overall taste and integrity of the dish.
Let’s recreate and simplify Singaporean Salted Egg Prawn. First of all, we obviously need salted duck eggs. Raw eggs are usually kept in brine or salted clay for months in a dark place, but we have no time for this as we want to eat this right now!
Off to the nearest Asian specialty store, we go, here we can buy packaged cooked salted duck eggs. The ones I got was a six-pack imported from Taiwan, they’re individually plastic wrapped and be kept in the pantry.
Once you’ve got your salted duck eggs the rest is easy peasy!
Ingredients for Easy Salted Egg Prawn
Prawns (Shrimps) – This dish is worthy of splurging on fresh large shelled raw prawns. You can use 600gm (18oz) frozen peeled prawns for convenience instead. I prefer to peel my prawns prior to cooking, as it’s easier for everyone to eat, however it can also be cooked with the shell.
Frying and Oil – If shelled prawns are used you can skip this part. I highly recommend taking the time to flour and fry peeled prawns, this will create a nice crispy texture for the sauce to catch on to. Any neutral-tasting oil such as canola, vegetable or rice bran oil can be used for frying.
Salted Duck Eggs – Asian restaurants are likely to use their own brined duck eggs. In order to keep this recipe quick and easy we’ll be using cooked store-bought salted duck eggs. These eggs can be found at an Asian grocery store.
Chicken powder – So far I have not found any other chicken flavouring that I love more than KORR’S Chicken Powder. This can be found in an Asian grocery store, a pic of the can and the ingredients for Korr’s chicken powder can be found on my Ingredients Glossary You can substitute chicken powder with chicken stock powder.
How to make Easy Salted Egg Prawn
Step by step guide with photos
Prepare the salted duck egg yolks
Cut the eggs in half lengthwise, use a small spoon to scoop out the yolks. Transfer the yolks into a small bowl and mash it as fine as you can using a spoon or folk.
Peel, devein and flour the prawns
Break of the head of the prawns and peel of the shell leaving the tail intact. Use a sharp small knife and cut a shallow slit along the spine of the prawn and remove the digestive tract. Transfer the deveined prawns into a large bowl and add in the flour, toss the prawns making sure it’s completely covered in flour.
Fry the prawns
Shallow fry – pour in enough oil in a frying pan so that it comes up halfway to the prawns. Heat the oil on medium to high heat, test the oil by using tongs and dip the tail of a prawn in, if it sizzles the oil is ready. Carefully cook the prawns in batches until it’s just opaque, do not overcook (approximately 20 to 30 seconds on each side) Deep fry – Heat up the oil to 180°C/ 350°F, and cook the prawns in batches for 25 seconds or just opaque, do not overcook.
Stir-fry
Using a wok or a frypan melt the butter on medium to high heat, add in the garlic and stir for a minute or until fragrant but do not let it burn. Add in the yolks, stirring to break it up, once the mixture starts to foam add in the sugar, chicken powder, curry leaves, chilli, cook and stir for a minute. Add in the prawns, cook and stir continuously for 2 more minutes. Serve immediately with hot steamed rice.
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Easy Salted Egg Prawn
Ingredients
- 1000 gm large raw shelled prawns (NOTE 1)
- 3 tbsp cornflour (or cornstarch)
- oil for frying (NOTE 2)
For the stir-fry
- 50 gm butter
- 3 cloves garlic (minced finely)
- 3 cooked salted duck egg yolks (NOTE 3)
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chicken powder (NOTE 4)
- 10 curry leaves (or 1/2 tsp curry powder)
- 3 small red chillies ( thinly sliced and adjusted to taste)
Instructions
- Cut the eggs in half lengthwise, use a small spoon to scoop out the yolks. Transfer the yolks into a small bowl and mash it as fine as you can using a spoon or folk.
- Break of the head of the prawns and peel of the shell leaving the tail intact. Use a sharp small knife and cut a shallow slit along the spine of the prawn and remove the digestive tract. Transfer the deveined prawns into a large bowl and add in the flour, toss the prawns making sure it's completely covered in flour.
- Shallow fry – pour in enough oil in a frying pan so that it comes up halfway to the prawns. Heat the oil on medium to high heat, test the oil by using tongs and dip the tail of a prawn in, if it sizzles the oil is ready. Carefully cook the prawns in batches until it's just opaque, do not overcook (approximately 20 to 30 seconds on each side) Deep fry – Heat up the oil to 180°C/ 350°F, and cook the prawns in batches for 25 seconds or just opaque, do not overcook.
- Using a wok or a frypan melt the butter on medium to high heat, add in the garlic and stir for a minute or until fragrant but do not let it burn. Add in the yolks, stirring to break it up, once the mixture starts to foam add in the sugar, chicken powder, curry leaves, chilli, cook and stir for a minute. Add in the prawns, cook and stir continuously for 2 more minutes. Serve immediately with hot steamed rice.
