Popping Fried Prawn Recipe

Last updated December 22, 2022

A Tasty Recipe Made in Just 15 Minutes

Contents hide

1 What You’ll Need For This Fried Prawn Recipe

1.1 Ingredients

1.2 Garnish Ingredients (optional)

2 Method

2.1 Nutritional Facts

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 3 (possibly 4 if used as a side)

Nothing beats a super quick and easy fried prawn dish, they can be seared and smothered in all sorts of tasty spices and sauces. This recipe will guide you through how to make an Asian-style fried prawn dish in a chili jam.

It tastes just like the real thing you’d get in modern Asian restaurants. Be warned- this dish is pretty spicy!

When cooking with seafood, it can be easy to overdo it. The last thing you want is a rubbery prawn, so it’s always best to use recipes that involve flash frying. This prevents drying out your shrimp and possibly ruining your entire dish.

In this recipe, we’ll be working with frozen prawns, rather than the fresh kind. While many people consider this blasphemy, I’ve found that many supermarkets stock high-quality frozen shrimp, even the cheaper brands taste great.

What You’ll Need For This Fried Prawn Recipe

As mentioned above, this recipe is all about keeping things quick and simple- so my ingredients are basic and accessible to everyone. However, I’ll provide some pro-tips and variation ideas throughout, so you can make your own changes as you see fit.

Ingredients

500g/1lb of shrimp

If you want to go all-out, get your shrimp raw, peeled, and deveined. Or, you could buy fresh shrimp and peel and devein them at home.

Alternatively, you can opt for frozen shrimp (my personal favorite), if you do this, make sure to thaw them completely before cooking and pat them dry with some paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

Frozen prawns are usually still raw and will require cooking. Even if they appear cooked, don’t forget to double-check the label!

1 ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil

If you don’t have any vegetable oil or prefer not to use it in your cooking, I’ve found that canola works as a great substitute without compromising on flavor.

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

I recommend getting your hands on the toasted kind. Toasted sesame oil is brown in color and has a much stronger flavor than just ordinary sesame oil that hasn’t been toasted.

Untoasted sesame oil has more of a yellow hue. Either works just fine- it depends on your own preference.

3 cloves of garlic

Chopped very finely. If you don’t have any fresh garlic, you can use garlic powder or preserve, but it probably won’t pack the same punch.

2 teaspoons of ginger

Grated or finely chopped works best.

1 teaspoon of chili flakes

These can sometimes be called red pepper flakes. If you don’t have any, you can consider using chili paste or chopped and pickled chilis. You can adjust the number of chili flakes you use depending on your personal preference.

½ cup (125ml) of water

3 tablespoons of sriracha

Sriracha is a spicy Asian sauce that is made with chilis and added flavorings. It has boomed in popularity in recent years and can now be found in most supermarkets across Australia, the United States, Europe, and Canada.

Be sure to adjust the spiciness with chilli flakes, not sriracha. This is because the sauce requires the vinegar that is present in the sriracha.

2 teaspoons of soy sauce

I prefer to use light soy sauce, but the all-purpose kind will work just fine. Avoid using extra dark soy sauce, as it can overpower the other flavors in the dish.

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

This can be substituted with white sugar if you prefer.

Garnish Ingredients (optional)

Sesame seeds
Green onions, finely chopped
Red chilies, finely chopped

Method

Begin by heating a large skillet over medium to high heat. Add in some vegetable oil or canola and wait for it to heat up. Toss in half of the prawns and fry for around 1 minute on each side, or until golden. After this, remove the prawns from the skillet and place them into a bowl. Repeat this step with the rest of the prawns.
Once all of the prawns have been fried and are sitting in the bowl, remove the skillet from the stovetop to cool down. Turn the burner down to medium heat.
Once it’s cooled slightly, replace the skillet back onto the burner and heat up some sesame oil, keeping the heat on medium the whole time.
Now it’s time to add your garlic, ginger, and chili flakes. Cook these ingredients on the skillet over medium heat until the garlic has turned golden brown.
Next, add in the water and stir. Then add your sriracha, soy sauce, and sugar and mix it all together in the pan. Turn up the heat a little, so it’s medium to high. Allow the ingredients to simmer for about 3 minutes or until the sauce has begun to thicken. When it reaches a thick and syrup consistency, you know it’s ready.
Now, return the prawns back into the skillet and toss it all around in order to coat each piece of shrimp in sauce and reheat them. Allow the prawn to cook in the sauce for around 1 to 2 minutes until the sauce has reduced and coats each of the prawns perfectly.
Finish off by garnishing your dish with sesame seeds, fresh chili, and chopped shallots if desired. You can serve your fried shrimp with rice, as it’s great for soaking up the tasty Thai-style sauce.