Recently, I have been embarking on a journey of sharing some easy dishes due to the request of one of my friends who is residing in New Zealand. Check out our blog for more delicious and simple dishes to prepare.
Nyonya dishes are commonly known for the cumbersome preparations and involving loads of ingredients but not for the Assam prawns. It is considered to be one of the simplest dish to cook. However, I have decided to cook this dish in a slightly different way as I personally prefer to have gravy or sauces for my dishes. Hmm…. so, is this dish still classified under Nyonya cuisine?? The prawns cooked in this manner are succulent and infused with the sour-ish tamarind sauce which makes it amazingly appetizing.
As this dish is cooked best with the prawn shells on, I had to “painstakingly” use a pair of scissors to cut through the top of shell and devein the prawns so that the seasoning can seep into it. The best part of it all? Using your fingers to eat the prawns and sucking up the sauce and flavour on the shell.
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Serves 4 persons
Ingredients:
500g medium/large prawns, deveined, washed, and drained well
90g tamarind pulp + ½ cup of water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 red chillies
Some cooking oil
Method:
Preparation for the Prawns:
- Using a pair of scissors, cut through the top shell of the prawns and devein them.
- Rinse and put the prawns into a bowl.
- Add in the tamarind pulp, salt, sugar, dark soy sauce and water.
- Mix well and marinate the prawns for about an hour or more.
Cooking the Prawns:
My husband and I are very excited to try this recipe! We love prawns and tamarind though we haven’t had them together yet.
I am curious, why is this recipe called Assam prawns? Is this prawn dish a style popular in the Assam region for a particular reason? We drink Assam tea and love it.
Hi Clara. Assam is another name for tamarind, hence the reason why the recipe is called Assam prawns. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the assam prawns recipe. I will try it out soon.