This is a real Panang Curry recipe for curry connoisseurs who adore authentic Thai food! It’s made using a homemade Panang Curry paste which is easy to make but will likely call for a trip to the Asian store. But if you truly want the best, it’s worth it. You can’t get good Panang curry in jars!

Make this creamy coconut Panang curry with either prawns/shrimp or chicken. Both are great!

I only make Panang curry from scratch

This is a recipe for Thai Panang curry that is entirely made from scratch, including a homemade Panang curry paste. While I’ll happily make Thai Red and Green curry using my favourite curry paste from a jar, nothing compares to a Panang Curry paste when you make it yourself from fresh ingredients!

Even the Panang curry paste by my favourite Maesri brand falls too short compared to homemade. Well, maybe that’s going too far. It makes a tasty enough curry. But not a real deal Panang curry!

What Panang curry tastes like

Panang Curry tastes like a more intense version of Thai Red Curry. While it has similar ingredients, Panang curry is a bit stronger, richer, sweeter and thicker than Red Curry, as well as slightly nutty thanks to the addition of ground peanuts in the paste.

Panang curry is spicy. Deal with it!

Panang curry is spicy. But unlike most other curry recipes, you cannot reduce the spiciness without losing flavour because chillies are the key ingredient for Penang curry sauce.

How spicy, you ask? Thais would class this Panang curry as medium or “not so spicy”. For Westerners, it’s probably getting up towards hot. But not volcanic. General consensus amongst my team is that it’s a 7 out of 10 on the spicy scale. The only other curry on my website that hits this level of spiciness is Vindaloo, if that’s a useful comparable for you.

So if you can’t handle spicy food, I suggest you give Panang Curry a miss and make a milder Thai Yellow Curry or Massaman Curry instead!

* Spiciness testing: My team and I worked on this Panang curry recipe a LOT. We did so many variations to stress test the spiciness and we are all in agreement that if you reduce the chillis to reduce spiciness, you lose flavour and it’s not Panang curry. We ended up creating a recipe using milder Chinese chillies rather than spicy Thai ones, to get enough sauce flavour without blowing our heads off.

OK, due warning on the topic of spiciness given. On to the recipe!

Panang curry ingredients

First, I’ll run through the beautiful fresh ingredients for the homemade Panang curry paste. Then all the good stuff that goes in the curry!

Panang curry paste ingredients

There’s a fair few Asian specific ingredients here, but familiar ingredients to those who have made other homemade Thai curries. In particular, Thai Red Curry – because the ingredients are virtually the same!

It will require a trip to the Asian store, though you can actually get everything at Harris Farms and the larger grocery stores in Australia, with the exception of shrimp paste (but there’s a substitute for that).

• Dried chilli – Key ingredient, so discussed below. Don’t get this wrong – you will regret it! 🔥

• Lemongrass – Fresh is best but if you can’t get it, use 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste instead.

• Galangal – looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. It’s pretty tough so best to grate to ensure your curry paste is smooth, otherwise you risk lumps in your sauce. You can find it in Asian stores + some grocery stores in Australia (Harris Farms and some Woolworths sell it). Substitute: use the same amount of ginger + 1/4 tsp lime zest.

• Shrimp paste in bean oil – I use Por Kwan Shrimp Paste in Bean Oil, pictured below, the most popular one sold at Asian grocery stores here in Australia. Substitute with 1 1/2 tsp belacan dried shrimp paste, roughly chopped (even sold at Woolies in Australia!) + 1 tsp oil + 1 tsp fish sauce + 1 garlic clove + 1 tsp miso, if you can – any type). Use in place of shrimp paste in recipe.

• Kaffir lime leaves – Earthy lime flavour unlike anything else! Sold at Asian stores, Harris Farms & large grocery stores in Australia. Freezes 100% perfectly – used in Thai red curry, coconut rice, Thai meatballs.

• Eschalot (US: Shallot) – Also known as French onions and called “shallots” in the US. They are like baby onions, but with purple-skinned flesh. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots”, ie. the long green onions. Substitute with half a red onion.

• Garlic – 5 whole cloves!

• Peanuts – This is what gives the Panang curry the signature peanut-y flavour. Beats using a scoop of peanut butter any day!

• Dried spices – Cumin, coriander and nutmeg.

Dried chilli for Panang curry paste

Dried chilli is the key ingredient in Panang curry, for both sauce flavour and colour. It is also what makes Panang curry spicy. But if you reduce the chilli, you will lose sauce flavour. So as recommended above, if you can’t handle spicy food, it is best to give this a miss.

Chilli type matters!! Use Chinese dried chillies, not Thai or Indian! I know it sounds strange to tell you not to use Thai dried chillies but they are SUPER spicy and unlike Chinese chillis, they don’t reduce in spiciness much when cooked. Same with some Indian chillies, like kashmiri. Let’s just say my team and I put our bodies on the line to figure this out!!

* Check label for country of origin.* You want chillies from China. And even though the spiciness of Chinese chilli types and brands will vary, we found that the cooking process in this curry reduces the spiciness of the chillies so they end up being the same level of spiciness – even using Chinese chillies labelled hot and extra hot.

The brand I use is pictured above. It’s a very common brand here in Australia and not that expensive (~$3), sold in Asian stores and even some large grocery stores.

Amount to use – We need 1/2 cup chillies once chopped, so start with about 2/3 cup whole chillies. Dried chillies vary in length so the number you need will vary, from (say) 12 very large ones to 40 small ones. Get large ones if you can because we need to deseed them and it’s much faster to deal with 12 large ones than 40 small ones.

Be sure to deseed thoroughly – the seeds are where most of the spiciness is!

The protein – chicken or prawns/shrimp

The base recipe calls for fresh, whole prawns/shrimp. This is because I like to add my own touch by repurposing the heads to make an easy prawn stock for use in the sauce. This underlines the sweet, prawn-y flavours of this curry and catapults it into wow territory. However, we’ve also made it with chicken and it’s extremely good too!

If you can’t get / don’t have / really can’t bear the thought of peeling your own prawns, it’s ok, you can use peeled prawns and skip making the prawn stock.

Chicken stock? Yes! Store bought fish/seafood stock is really not good. But chicken stock is much better, and gets infused with prawn flavour from the prawn heads (which is where most of the prawn flavour is!).

Panang curry sauce

Here’s what you need for the sauce and other add-ins for the curry.

• Coconut cream – More intense coconut flavour than using coconut milk, and thickens the sauce too. Full fat essential! No point using low-fat because fat is where all the flavour is.

• Fish sauce – Provides most of the salt in the curry, but with more savoury flavour. We do add some salt too because if we only use fish sauce, it gets a bit too…well, fishy.

• Sugar – Just a touch, because Thai food is all about balancing the sweet-salty-savoury!

• Thai basil leaves – Fresh herb used in Thai cooking that tastes like Italian basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Substitute with Italian basil.

How to make Panang Curry

The making part is very straight forward and quite quick actually. The step that takes the longest is soaking the dried chillies!

Make prawn stock – if using prawns/shrimp

If you’re making Panang curry with prawns/shrimp, get the prawn stock going first. If you’re using chicken, you can skip this step.

1. 15 minute simmer – Place chicken stock, prawn heads and shells in a saucepan. Simmer for 15 minutes, crushing the heads every now and then with a potato masher to extract as much flavour as you can.

2. Strain the stock and discard the prawn heads. We started with 1 1/2 cups of stock, you should end up with around 1 1/4 cups. Top up if you are short.

   Then set the stock aside for 5 minutes to let the sediment settle to the bottom. We will avoid pouring that bottom layer into our sauce.

Curry paste

1. De-seed chillis – Cut the chillis in half then twist / tap / use chopsticks to remove all the seeds. Be thorough here – the seeds is where most of the spiciness is! I got slack one day and let’s just say I seriously regretted it.

2. Soak 30 minutes – Roughly chop the chillis then soak in boiling water for 30 minutes.

3. Drain and reserve the chilli soaking liquid. We will be using some for the curry paste.

4. Blitz – Put the peanuts into a jug just large enough to fit the head of a stick blender. Cover the jar with your hand to stop the peanuts from flying everywhere and blitz into a rough paste. Then add all the remaining curry paste ingredients and blitz until smooth. It only takes around 20 seconds or so.

   Note: You can also use a small food processor. You’ll struggle to make this in a large food processor as there is not enough curry paste.

Making Panang curry

This part is nice and quick – about 10 minutes from start to finish!

1. Sauté curry paste – Cook the Panang Curry paste for around 5 minutes until it darkens in colour and is not wet and sloppy. This intensifies the flavour.

2. Sauce – Add the prawn stock, being careful to pour off just the clearer liquid and leaving the sediment behind. If using chicken as your protein, just add plain chicken stock/broth.

3. Add coconut cream, sugar, fish sauce and salt.

4. Add the beans then simmer for 2 minutes until the beans are half cooked.

5. Add prawns, stir, then simmer for another 2 minutes until the prawns are cooked. They cook quickly – and will keep cooking as we finish it!

6. Serve – Then finally, stir in the Thai basil leaves. Serve over jasmine rice garnished with chopped peanuts, chilli and more Thai basil leaves!

So, with the big blue box of thanks done, I hope those of you on the fence about trying this can have the confidence to make it knowing it’s been subject to extra thorough testing! We really do think this is an exceptional Panang Curry. You’d be hard pressed to find one as good other than at the really top tier Thai restaurants. In Sydney, I’d only recommend Long Chim and Spice I Am.

Remember – be brave with the chillies! Go on, you can do it! 😉 – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Panang Curry – real, from scratch

Recipe video above. This is a stunning Panang Curry made entirely from scratch. It's for people who adore real Thai food, can handle the heat and understand that you just can't replicate the fresh flavour of a real Penang Curry using paste from a jar! Not even using my favourite Maesri curry paste that I'll happily use for Thai Red and Green Curry.

It calls for a trip to the Asian store but once you have the ingredients, it's straightforward to make. See SPICINESS note in notes section below – yep, it's spicy, and it can't be avoided!

Course curries, Main

Cuisine Thai

Keyword panang curry, thai curry

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Dried chilli soaking 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Protein – choose ONE:

• 700g/ 1.4 lb whole raw prawns/shrimp (ie shell on), medium ~8cm / 3″long – Note 1
• 350g / 12 oz boneless, skinless chicken thighs , cut into 7mm/ 1/3" slices

For prawn stock (shrimp):

• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth , low-sodium (not fish/seafood – Note 2)

Curry paste:

• 2/3 cup dried Chinese chillies (not Thai!) (24 x 6cm/2.5" long, 1/2 cup (15g) once deseeded chopped) – Note 3
• 3 tbsp roasted peanuts unsalted
• 2 lemongrass stems , finely grated (2 x 20cm/8" lengths) – Note 4
• 2 eschalots , roughly chopped (1/2 cup)
• 1 tbsp galangal, finely grated (~1.5cm / 0.6" piece) – Note 5
• 5 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste in bean oil – Note 6
• 1/2 tsp each ground coriander, cumin, nutmeg
• 1 tbsp (packed) finely sliced kaffir lime leaves (~ 6 leaves) – Note 7

Curry:

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups coconut cream , full-fat (standard Aus 270ml small can ok)
• 3 1/2 tsp white sugar
• 4 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 200g/7oz green beans , trimmed, cut in half (~1 1/2 cups)
• 12 Thai basil leaves – Note 8

SERVING and GARNISHES

• Jasmin rice
• 2 tbsp unsalted peanuts , finely chopped
• Red cayenne peppers , finely sliced (optional)
• Thai basil leaves , 3 leaves per serving – Note 8

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Prawn stock:

• Simmer – Peel and devein prawns, reserving heads and shells. Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a small pot on high heat. Add prawn heads & shells, bring back to a simmer, then reduce to low heat. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, periodically crushing the heads lightly with a potato masher and skimming off any orange scum.
• Strain into a jug, discarding heads. You should have just over 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) of stock. Leave undisturbed to let the sediment settle (~ 5min+).

Curry paste:

• Cut chillies in half then tap / squeeze out seeds (use a chopstick if needed for stubborn seeds). Discard seeds (spicy!). Chop chilli.
• Soak dried chillis in 2 cups of boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander, reserve soaking liquid.
• Peanuts – Put peanuts in a tall jar that comfortably fits the head of a stick blender (or use a small blender). Cover the jar opening with your hand and pulse until finely ground.
• Blitz paste – Add drained chillis and remaining Curry Paste ingredients, along with 1/4 cup of the reserved chilli soaking liquid. Blend, scraping down the sides as you go, for about 30 seconds until smooth, using extra chilli water only if needed to help blend.

Cooking:

• Cook curry paste – Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook curry paste for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. The paste should be drier, darker, smelling aromatic and no longer raw.
• Sauce – Add 1 cup (250 ml) prawn stock, being careful to pour off just the clearer liquid and leaving the sediment behind. Stir in the coconut cream, sugar, fish sauce and salt. Mix in the green beans.
• Simmer for 2 minutes until the sauce thickens and the beans are half cooked.
• Add prawns, stir, then simmer for another 2 minutes until the prawns are cooked. Stir in the Thai basil leaves. The final taste should lean mostly savoury and sweet, and medium spiciness.
• Serve over jasmine rice garnished with chopped peanuts, chilli and more Thai basil leaves!

Notes

SPICE NOTE! This is an authentic Panang curry, so it’s spicy. Thai’s would class it as medium or “not so spicy”. For Westerners, it’s probably getting up towards hot. But not volcanic. Because the sauce relies on the chilli for colour and flavour, if you can’t handle spicy food, give this one a miss and make Thai Yellow Curry or Massaman Curry instead!

---

1. Proteins – I think juicy prawns go particularly well with panang curry, plus you get to re-purpose the heads to get free, bonus flavour into the stock which makes this really special. If using pre-peeled prawns, using 350g/12 oz and skip the stock making steps.

Chicken – Recipe works perfectly with chicken too! Use 350g/12oz, thinly sliced. Skip the stock making steps, cook chicken as per recipe does with prawns.

2. Chicken stock? Yes! Store bought fish/seafood stock is really not good. But chicken stock is much better, and gets infused with prawn flavour from the prawn heads (which is where most of the prawn flavour is!).

3. Use Chinese dried chillies, not Thai or Indian! I know it sounds strange to tell you to avoid Thai dried chillies but they are SUPER spicy and don’t reduce in spiciness much when cooked. Same with some Indian ones are too (like kashmiri). My team and I did a lot of testing around chilli types for this curry re: excessive spiciness.

Check label for country of origin, use Chinese chillies. Though the spiciness of Chinese chilli types and brands will vary, I found that the cooking process in this curry reduces the spiciness of the chillies so they end up being the same level of spiciness. Be brave! Try not to reduce the chilli too much because they are also a key flavouring for the sauce. If you can’t handle spicy food, I suggest skipping this recipe!

Quantity – Dried chillies vary in length so the number you need will vary, from (say) 12 very large ones to 40 small ones for 2/3 cup when whole (20g, with seeds in). You need enough so you have 1/2 cup (15 g) chillies once chopped / deseeded. Be sure to deseed thoroughly – the seeds are where most of the spiciness is!

4. Lemongrass prep – cut the reedy end off, we’re only using the white and pale green part, around the bottom 20cm/8″. Trim root off, peel off reedy outer layer. Then grate using a microplane, discard stringy bits left. Sub: Fresh is best here but if you can’t get it, use 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste instead.

5. Galangal – looks like ginger but is more citrusy and harder. It’s pretty tough so best to grate to ensure your curry paste is smooth. You can find it in Asian stores + some grocery stores in Australia (Harris Farms and some Woolworths sell it). Sub: use the same amount of ginger + 1/4 tsp lime zest.

6. Shrimp paste in bean oil – I use Por Kwan Shrimp Paste in Bean Oil, the most popular one sold at Asian grocery stores here in Australia. Substitute with 1 1/2 tsp belacan dried shrimp paste, roughly chopped (even sold at Woolies in Australia!) + 1 tsp oil + 1 tsp fish sauce + 1 garlic clove + 1 tsp miso, if you can – any type). Use in place of shrimp paste in recipe.

7. Kaffir lime leaves – Earthy lime flavour unlike anything else! Sold at Asian stores, Harris Farms & large grocery stores in Australia. Freezes 100% perfectly – used in Thai red curry, coconut rice, Thai meatballs.

8. Thai basil leaves – Fresh herb used in Thai cooking that tastes like Italian basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Sub with Italian basil.

9. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Keep basil separate – it degrades once stirred in.

Nutrition per serving assuming 5 servings, excluding rice.

I adore Thai curries

See?

Thai Red Curry with Chicken

Thai Green Curry

Massaman Curry

Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry

Thai Yellow Curry

Jasmine Rice

Thai Recipes

Life of Dozer

Getting fitted for a special reader dinner coming up next week at the Four Seasons hotel in Sydney! YES, Dozer will be waddling around a ballroom in his tux. 😂 There’s still some tickets available – see below for information!

Tickets here for a dinner hosted by Dymocks book store at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney on Thursday 10th August. Ticket price includes a 3 course meal developed with the Chef at the hotel in collaboration with our very own Chef JB, as well as all beverages!

The post Panang curry – real deal, from scratch appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This is a recipe for Honey Prawns, old-school Chinese restaurant-style. The batter coating is a proven secret weapon I use for Honey Chicken that stays crispy for hours, even after tossing with the honey sauce!

The trick? Ice cold soda water for one. Also, cornflour plus flour. Finally a double-fry, fast becoming the worst-kept cooking secret to less greasy fried foods that stay crispy for hours!

Honey Prawns that stay crispy for hours!

Honey Prawns are a much-loved favourite at suburban Chinese restaurants and takeaway joints across Australia. Plump, snappy prawns are battered and fried until crisp, then tossed in a sweet and sticky honey sauce – those words alone will have anybody drooling!

As irresistible as they are, for me Honey Prawns at most restaurants suffer one glaring defect: they don’t stay crispy for long! Once the honey sauce hits that crispy exterior, it’s an express ride to Soggy Town!

The simplest answer to this problem is of course to gobble fresh Honey Prawns down as soon as they hit the table. I heartily endorse this solution. 😂 But that aside … can we do better?

Yes we can! 🙂 Thanks to a trio of little tricks I employ, these Honey Prawns will stay crisp for not just a few minutes … or even hours …. or overnight … but you can even reheat them the next day to near freshly-cooked, crispy perfection!

Sound too good to be true? Read on and become a believer in the miracle of Stay-Crispy Honey Prawns!

What you need to make Honey Prawns

Here’s what you need to make these Honey Prawns that stay crispy for hours!

1. Prawns and honey sauce

Prawns/shrimp

Fresh raw prawns are best if you can, medium to medium-large size. The ones pictured are 33g whole or 17g peeled, to be exact!

However these days, frozen prawns are actually also pretty good. Get large frozen peeled prawns, thaw them and pat them dry very well. Frozen prawns tend to be quite watery when they defrost which will compromise the crispiness!

Honey Sauce

• Honey – The primary flavour here. Yes, this sauce is sweet!

• Glucose syrup – This is a very thick, clear syrup that comes in jars, usually found in the baking aisle of supermarkets. This is a little trick for making a thick honey sauce that coats the surface of the crispy coating without soaking in much and making it soggy. Substitute with clear corn syrup – this works just as well.

• Chinese cooking wine – A commonly used ingredient in Chinese cooking to add depth of flavour into sauces as well as a little salt. Without it, the honey sauce tastes a bit flat, like it’s missing “something”. Substitute with mirin or if you can’t consume alcohol, low-sodium chicken stock/broth.

• Soy sauce – For some flavour and seasoning.

No water added! – Most Honey Prawn sauce recipes include water and cornflour/cornstarch for thickening. Crispy batters and water are not friends! Give the water a miss.

2. Miracle stay-crispy fry batter

And here’s what you need for the miracle stay-crispy fry batter. I’m just going to cover the basics about each ingredient in this section. If you are interested in more about the why, have a read of the Honey Chicken post when I first introduced this fry batter!

• COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water – NOT sparkling mineral water which is naturally carbonated. We want something that has man-made bubbles in it because it is fizzier, and the fizz helps with the puffing of the batter. Meanwhile cold liquid is key for an ultra-crispy result. The shock of the cold batter hitting the hot oil = super-crispy batter, virtually immediately.

• Cornflour/cornstarch – Wheat flour (ie. plain flour / all-purpose flour) contains gluten which causes crispy batters to soften. Cornflour is gluten-free, so using this type of flour in the batter is key for crispiness. We use mostly cornflour in this batter.

• Plain flour / all-purpose flour – So why not just use all cornflour? If you do the batter becomes like a thick glue that’s not workable. Also because cornflour does not brown properly when fried, and stays pale. We want a nice golden colour for Honey Prawns! Thus some wheat flour helps here. We also need some to activate the baking powder to make this crispy coating puffy (baking powder doesn’t work on cornflour).

• Baking powder – A key ingredient to give the batter some lift so it’s puffy, rather than a thin coating that’s fully adhered to the prawn like in Sweet & Sour Pork.

How to make Honey Prawns

This recipe utilises a double-coating method for an extra crispy coating. We dusting first with cornflour to seal the prawns, then a batter for crispiness!

1. Preparing the batter

1. Season prawns by tossing with salt. I used to marinate them in a little soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine for flavour, but have since found that this compromises the crispiness. Salt is all we need – there’s plenty of flavour in the crispy coating and the honey sauce that coats it thickly!

2. Cornflour/cornstarch dusting – Provides an extra layer to seal in the juiciness of the prawns so it doesn’t soften the crispy coating. A proven method utilised in Honey Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork!

3. Batter (cold!) – Made simply by mixing the batter ingredients together. A key step for ensuring the cooked batter is ultra-crispy is COLD raw batter. The shock of the cold batter hitting hot oil = crispier prawns. The batter is kept cold by making it just prior to frying, and using fridge-chilled soda water / club soda. For extra insurance, you can also chill the bowl and dry ingredients before mixing in the water – a good tip for beginners or when making Honey Prawns on hot days.

4. Batter thickness – The above photo shows the thickness of the batter (also see video). It is quite thin which is intentional. Contrary to what I expected, a thinner batter stays crispier for longer!

5. Dip in batter – Dip the floured prawn in one at a time into the batter, just before cooking.

6. Let excess batter drip off by holding the prawns for a few seconds before transferring them to the hot oil.

2. Double-fry – the secret for ultra-crispy!

Fast becoming the worst-kept frying secret, a quick double-fry is THE ultimate secret to ultra-crispy and less greasy fried food (more examples: Honey Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, my mother’s Chicken Karaage). It also solves the inherent problems of batch-frying where the first batches cool before the last hot batch is done. Why? Because unlike the first fry of the double-fry, during the second fry you can crowd the pot, meaning the prawns get reheated in one or at most, two quick batches.

1. Fry #1  (3 minutes) – Fry the prawns for 3 minutes at 160°C/320°F until LIGHT golden. This steps is to cook the batter and prawns. At the end of the 3 minutes, the coating will be pale but crispy, however it will soften as it cools. This is normal and we’ll properly crisp it shortly!

2. COOL prawns before second fry – Another key tip to make crispiness-that-lasts! I do not know the science behind this, but I have found that second-frying cold prawns is both crispier AND stays crispy for longer than second-frying prawns that are still hot form the first fry.

3. Fry #2 (3 minutes) – Fry the prawns for 3 minutes at 200°C/390°F or until they are a deep golden brown. Colour is the key indicator here. If the prawns are not golden enough, then the crispy coating will soften faster as it cools. They will still be crispy long enough to coat in sauce, serve and eat. But towards the end of the meal you will find they will not be fully crispy all the way around.

   On the other hand, golden brown prawns will stay crispy for HOURS. As in, long after they are cold, they are still super-crunchy. It’s insane!

   This is the target golden colour you are aiming for:

And here’s a comparison of the prawns after Fry #1 and Fry #2:

Bonus: Doing the quick Fry #2 just before serving where you can crowd the pot (ie all the prawns are cooked in 2 batches) means the prawns are served piping hot, freshly cooked.

4. Drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Now it’s time to coat in that wickedly good Honey Sauce!

5. Honey Sauce – In reality, we will make the Honey Sauce before we do Fry #2. Just plonk ingredients in a pot and simmer to make a fairly thick syrup with minimal water content, so it won’t make our prawns soggy.

6. Pour the Honey Sauce over the prawns in a bowl.

7. Toss quickly to coat the prawns in the Honey Sauce. You want to be quick here, not because the prawns will go soggy (they won’t!) but because the honey sauce will thicken as it cools which makes it harder to coat the prawns properly.

8. Serve! For an authentic Chinese restaurant experience, pile the prawns on a bed of fried rice vermicelli noodles. To make the noodles, you literally just drop a wad of dried rice vermicelli noodles in the hot oil and it will expand into a mass of foam-like crispy noodles within seconds!

   Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired. Take to the table and watch them disappear in seconds!

What to serve with Honey Prawns

I find that Honey Prawns are a bit too sweet to have as the only main dish. So typically, I serve with with another savoury and salty side dish, plus fried rice and vegetables or a salad. Here are some suggestions:

• Char Siu Pork – Chinese BBQ Pork for the second main. Or try the chicken version!

• A stir fry or stir fried noodles. Some favourites: Cashew Chicken, Honey Pepper Beef, Mongolian Lamb, or Chow Mein!

• Fried Rice – Classic Chinese restaurant-style. Or try the emergency Baked Fried Rice!

• Side salad suggestion – Chinese greens with Oyster Sauce, Ginger Smashed Cucumbers, a fresh Asian Salad or Asian Slaw.

If you put together your own Chinese restaurant banquet, tell me what you make! I love getting menu inspiration from readers! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Honey Prawns – stays crispy for ages!

Recipe video above. A recipe for old school Chinese restaurant style Honey Prawns! This recipe uses a proven method used in my Honey Chicken recipe for Honey Prawns that stays crispy hours even after coating in the sauce!

1. Double coating – cornflour/cornstarch to seal in juices, followed by batter.

2. Cold batter made with soda water = crispier coating that's puffy and light, not dense and greasy.

3. Cornflour/cornstarch + flour batter – cornflour for ultra crispiness, flour for golden colour.

4. Double fry for extra long lasting, thicker crispiness AND less greasy (Asian secret!).

5. No-soggy Sauce – glucose or corn syrup to make it "candy like" to stick on the prawn crust rather than soaking in, plus NO WATER in the sauce.

Note – the sauce is sweet. That's the way it's supposed to be! But not as sickly sweet as many Chinese restaurants tend to be. Please do not try to change the sauce as it has been formulated to prevent making the batter soggy.

Course Mains

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword crispy fried prawns, crispy fry batter, honey prawns

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Cooling 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 482cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Prawns

• 300g/ 10oz prawns/shrimp , peeled with tail on (600g/1.2lb whole unpeeled) (Note 1)
• 1/2 tsp kosher/cooking salt (halve for table salt)

Dredging:

• 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch

Ultra-crispy fry batter:

• 9 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch (Note 2)
• 6 tbsp flour , plain/all-purpose
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)
• 1/2 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (halve for table salt)
• 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water (NOT sparkling mineral water, Note 3)

Oil, for frying:

• 3 – 4 cups vegetable or canola oil (~4cm / 1.5" depth in a pot)

Honey Sauce (Note 8 on sweetness):

• 1/3 cup (100g) honey
• 1.5 tbsp (25g) glucose OR corn syrup (light) (Note 4)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all-purpose)
• 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or mirin)

Garnish / serving:

• 25g / 2 oz Vermicelli rice noodles (optional) , a wad of it (not mung bean noodles, it must be rice noodles)
• Sesame seeds, finely sliced green onions

Cups – Metric

Instructions

Season and dust prawns:

• Salt prawns: Mix prawns with salt. (Don't do this ahead, salt makes prawns sweat = compromise crispy coating!)
• Dust: Place 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch in a bowl. Dip prawn in, shake off excess then put on a plate. Repeat with all prawns.

Cold batter and fry #1:

• Chill dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, cornflour/cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Place in fridge while oil heats up. (Helps keep batter cold, cold batter = crispier prawns)
• Heat oil: Fill small pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.7" oil. Heat to 160°C/320°F on medium high stove.
• Make cold batter: When the oil is near target temp, add soda water into the dry ingredients. Then do the minimum whisks to just combine (10 or so) – a few lumps ok, better than whisking too much (changes coating texture).
• Batter thickness: Should fully coat prawns easily, not be see-through, but not thick and heavy. See video at 38 seconds for cues. Use extra soda water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve right thickness.
• Dredge: Holding a prawn by the tail, dip into the batter then hold up for a 2 seconds to let the excess batter drip off. Then carefully place in oil. Repeat with another 5 prawns (6 per batch).
• 3 minutes Fry #1: Cook for 3 minutes until light golden and crispy. When you pick them up, you can tell it's very crispy.
• Drain and repeat: Place prawns on a tray with paper towels. Repeat with remaining prawns. I cook in 4 batches. Don't crowd the pot as it brings oil temperature down too much.
• Cool prawns for 20 minutes (Note 5). Meanwhile, make Sauce.

Honey Sauce:

• Simmer: Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer, turn down stove to medium low then leave to simmer for 3 minutes.
• Syrupy consistency: The consistency should be like maple syrup (see video). Turn off stove, place lid on to keep warm (when cool, it gets too thick to toss prawns in it).

Fry #2 – for ultra-crispy!

• Heat oil to 200°C/390°F.
• 3 minutes Fry #2: Place half the prawns in oil (you can crowd the pot for Fry #2). Cook for 3 minutes or until it changes from pale golden to very golden, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate. You can tell by touching that it's built-to-last crispy! More golden = crispier (but don't overcook the prawns!) Repeat with remaining prawns.

Sauce and serve:

• Quickly toss: Transfer prawns to a metal bowl then pour over Honey Sauce. Quickly toss with rubber spatula to coat prawns in sauce. (Sauce starts thickening if you take too long, so be quick!)
• Garnish: Pile prawns over crispy rice noodles (if using), scatter with sesame seeds, green onion and serve!

Puffy crispy rice noodles (optional):

• At any point while oil is hot, drop a wad of noodles into hot oil, wait 3 seconds until it puffs up, then remove with tongs.
• Drain on paper towels, place on plate. Top with prawns! (Note: Crispy noodles stays crispy "forever" so you can do this well ahead. Not for eating – is flavourless.)

Notes

1. Prawns / shrimp – Raw prawns with tail on are best, medium to large in size. 300g (10oz) of peeled raw shrimp with tails is about 600g (20oz) unpeeled shrimp, about 17 prawns that are 17g each peeled (0.6oz), 34g whole (1.2oz).

Frozen – You can also use jumbo / large frozen raw shrimp, thawed. These tend to leach lots of water when defrosted, so ensure you drain all the liquid off and dry them very well. 

2. Cornflour and cornstarch are the same thing. Called cornstarch in the US and Canada, and cornflour in most of the rest of the world.

3. Cold soda water, club soda, or seltzer water – It must be fridge cold to ensure crispy coating. Needs to be man-made fizziness to help with the puffiness. Do not use sparkling mineral water (ie naturally fizzy) – it’s not as strong. It works but not as crispy.

BEST SUB: Ice cold water. Crispiness not as strong so doesn’t last as long once sauced, but still excellent if consumed within 20 minutes.

4. Glucose or corn syrup (light) – The key to making the honey sauce “toffee-like” so it coats and semi-sets ON the crispy crust rather than soaking INTO it and making it soggy. Both work just as well.

Find glucose in the baking aisle. Corn syrup is not widely available in Australia – I order it online. Substitute with honey (it does work for crispiness retention, glucose/corn syrup is an extra insurance policy!)

5. Let prawns cool after first fry = crispier crust once double fried. I don’t know the exact science, I presume it’s like cold batter = crispier prawns! It is still very crispy if fried the second time straight away however.

6. Double fry – Makes the coating ultra crisp AND less greasy, and deepens from pale gold colour to golden. Also means all prawns are piping hot when tossed in sauce.

Can skip – if so, do Fry 1 for 4 minutes until golden. Keep cooked prawns warm in 75°C/165°F oven on rack.

7. Air fryer / baking – baking definitely won’t work for this batter. I doubt air fryer would work either because you need instant high heat to solidify the batter, otherwise it will run everywhere.

I will share best baked alternative one day

8. SWEETNESS – Honey Prawns IS very sweet. That’s why all kids go mad over it! But the quantity of the sauce in the recipe is such that there is only a thin coating on each piece of prawns.

We can’t detect anything in the sauce at restaurants other than honey and a bit of seasoning, eg nothing sour to balance out the sweet. So I’ve stuck with restaurant versions so your kids won’t be disappointed. 😂 (PS I am a savoury rather than sweet girl, and I am mad for this Honey Prawns!)

SAVOURY TOUCH: For those who really want less sweet, add 2 tbsp cider vinegar and simmer for an extra 1 minute, and also maybe a dash of hot sauce or sriracha. It will not taste like restaurant versions, but will seem less sweet.

Please do NOT start adding things like ketchup and other things you see in other recipes as it will put the crispiness of the prawns at risk – the sauce as written almost “sets” on the surface of the crust, rather than soaking in.

9. Make ahead – the ultimate way to make ahead which is 90% perfect:

• Double fry the prawns. Fully cool. Reheat in 180°C/350°F oven for 5 – 7 minutes. just to heat prawns through and make the coating crispy again.
• Reheat Honey Sauce so it’s runny. Toss with prawns, serve!

Reheating prawns with sauce already on it – it’s got crunchy bits when cold, but as soon as you reheat it (oven or microwave), it goes soggy. No way around it I’m afraid!

10. Reuse oil – Oil used to fry any seafood takes on a bit of a seafood flavour, albeit fairly mild in this instance. I would only re-use the oil to make other seafood things, such as Beer Battered Fish or Coconut Prawns.

Cool oil in pot, line mesh colander with paper towel, strain oil. Store until required – personally would stick to savoury rather than sweet. 

11. An original creation by Team RTE, drawing on many lessons learned during the creation of the Built-To-Last Honey Chicken!

12. Nutrition – impossible for this one, I’m afraid! Let’s just say it’s got more calories than a lettuce leaf.

Nutrition

Calories: 482cal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 933mg | Potassium: 279mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg

Lucky 8: Eight more Chinese takeaway favourites

Mongolian Lamb

Chinese Crispy Pork Belly

Honey Chicken – STAYS CRISPY for hours!

Sweet and Sour Pork – best ever!

Chow Mein

General Tso’s Chicken

Fried Rice

Chinese Dumplings – Pork (Potstickers)

Chinese recipes

Life of Dozer

Honey Prawn vs beautifully plated piece of raw eggplant. Which did he choose?

Anybody who couldn’t guess should get their head checked. 😂

The post Honey Prawns – stays crispy! appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

A super quick and simple stock using shells and heads of prawns, turns this prawn and tomato linguine into a dinner party–worthy, date-worthy, Valentine’s-worthy, and absolutely restaurant-worthy dish!

This is a cookbook exclusive recipe!

This recipe is exclusive to my debut cookbook Dinner which includes a how-to video for every recipe. Just scan the QR code!

Just to explain….

I know, it’s confusing! You’re so used to getting recipes on my website – there’s over 1,200 of them, after all. And here you are looking at a tasty recipe video and I haven’t provided the recipe. 🙀

I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise.

This page exists to display the how-to video for this recipe which I exclusively created for my debut cookbook, Dinner. Every recipe in the cookbook has a tutorial video. To watch it, you simply scan the QR code with your phone or tablet and it will take you straight to the recipe video like the one shown above!

Curious about my cookbook?

• Read the cookbook overview

• Browse all cookbook exclusive recipes here

• Read the Cookbook Tales. Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of dirty dishes!! And quite a lot of Dozer. 😂

Stay tuned for more on this page! Some cookbook exclusive recipes will have extra information added as well as extra tips. I am also looking at enabling comments for selected recipes so I can answer reader questions about cookbook recipes. I’m just a little snowed under during this launch period – book tours, getting 131 recipe videos out, launching the book overseas. Please bear with me! – Nagi x (10 October 2022)

The post Restaurant-Worthy Easy Prawn Linguine appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This salad is all about super-fresh flavours and great textures. Plump prawns, sweet apple, crunchy cabbage and vibrant herbs, all combined with the silky richness of a lime coconut dressing – unbeatable!

Find the recipe on page 184 of Dinner.

This is a cookbook exclusive recipe!

This recipe is exclusive to my debut cookbook Dinner which includes a how-to video for every recipe. Just scan the QR code!

Just to explain….

I know, it’s confusing! You’re so used to getting recipes on my website – there’s over 1,200 of them, after all. And here you are looking at a tasty recipe video and I haven’t provided the recipe. 🙀

I’m not just doing this to torture you, I promise.

This page exists to display the how-to video for this recipe which I exclusively created for my debut cookbook, Dinner. Every recipe in the cookbook has a tutorial video. To watch it, you simply scan the QR code with your phone or tablet and it will take you straight to the recipe video like the one shown above!

Curious about my cookbook?

• Read the cookbook overview

• Browse all cookbook exclusive recipes here

• Read the Cookbook Tales. Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of dirty dishes!! And quite a lot of Dozer. 😂

Stay tuned for more on this page! Some cookbook exclusive recipes will have extra information added as well as extra tips. I am also looking at enabling comments for selected recipes so I can answer reader questions about cookbook recipes. I’m just a little snowed under during this launch period – book tours, getting 131 recipe videos out, launching the book overseas. Please bear with me! – Nagi x (10 October 2022)

The post Island Bliss – Prawn Salad With Coconut Lime Dressing appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.