WATCH: Make Your Own Vietnamese Freshwater Prawn Scampi
Home Cooking is a monthly series where we share creative and tasty recipes for you to try at home!
It’s quick, it’s sophisticated, it’s… pasta: the dish you make when you can’t cook or are 18 and trying to impress a date with spaghetti and canned sauce (pro tip: just order in).
The secret to preparing truly exceptional pasta, Chef Robert Conaway reminds us, is sprinkling a bit of salt into the water as it boils – almost enough to make it taste like the ocean. That will prevent the spaghetti from becoming mushy and ballooning to twice its size. The second secret is in the sauce: it has to be made from scratch, and you’ll need lots and lots of butter (or olive oil).
With this month’s recipe, you can opt to spoon the white wine sauce and chunks of Vietnamese freshwater prawn over black spaghetti or nix the carbs altogether and serve the crustaceans whole. Either way, you’re looking at a quick trip to Ole for lemongrass and kaffir lime and an easy 30 minutes in the kitchen. Feeling fancy? Finish your masterpiece off with a dusting of basil chiffonade and get that shrimp on Instagram.
Watch the video below first before tackling the recipe (VPN off):
Ingredients (serves 4-6):
6 Vietnamese freshwater prawns
4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
120ml white vermouth, dry
30ml fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemongrass, minced
3 lime leaves, chiffonade
2 teaspoons parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
For garnish:
Basil chiffonade
Thin-sliced lemon wheels
Red capsicum, juilenne
If served over pasta:
500g black spaghetti
Method:
1. For the shrimp, you have two options: serve whole, in which case just pat them dry and leave as is or, serve over pasta and remove the head and tail shell, butterfly and chop.
2. To assemble, heat the butter in a pan over a medium flame. When melted, add the lemongrass and sweat for two minutes.
3. Turn heat to high and add the shrimp and cook for one minute (chopped) or until the head begins to turn red (whole).
4. Add the wine and saute until almost dry.
5. Add garlic and sweat for 30 seconds, then add the lime leaf and lemon juice.
6. BTAB (bring to a boil) and cook for 30 seconds.
7. Reduce to a simmer and add the lemon zest and the parsley. If you're planning to serve with pasta, add it in now (precooked) and saute for another one or two minutes.
8. Check the seasoning (yes, you can go ahead and sneak a spoonful) and then plate. Garnish with parsley and a thinly sliced lemon.
This recipe is courtesy of Executive Western Chef Robert Conaway at LN Garden Hotel, Guangzhou.
[Images by Claire Zheng]
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