You will need;
| Prawns | 1 KG |
| Refined Oil | 250 ML |
For the Batter;
| Ice Cubes | 10 |
| Corn Flour | 4 TBSP |
| Refined Flour/Maida | 4 TBSP |
| Salt | 1/2 TSP |
| Pepper | 1/2 TSP |
| Beer | 1/2 a Can |
For the Stir Fry;
| Garlic | 10 Cloves- Chopped |
| Onion | 1 Big- Cut into Quarters |
| Green Chillies | 10- Cut into bite sized pieces |
| White Vinegar | 1TBSP |
| Dark Soya Sauce | 1 TSP |
| Sichuan Peppercorns | 2 TBSP |
| Refined Oil | 1 TBSP |
Shunli Style Chilli Fried Prawns! As all of you know by now, I love seafood and prawns are my favourite. This dish is an inspiration from one of my favourite Chinese restaurants in Kolkata........ Shunli Restaurant in Chinatown . As a kid, our family had a ritual of weekend dinners together. My uncle introduced us to this restaurant and I owe him a big one for this. This restaurant serves one of the best Indian-Chinese Food in Kolkata. Whenever we are in Kolkata, we make sure we visit this restaurant atleast once. There are a couple of dishes which are our absolute favourites. One being this one.... Chilli Fried Prawns. I recreated this dish at home and it turned out to be delicious. The prawns were super crispy. A big THANK YOU to Kylie Kwong as well because as a teenager I used to binge watch her channel on TLC and that is how I learnt how to make the crispiest golden fried prawns. For the batter I have used a non-alcoholic beer instead of an alcoholic one. It’s important to dip the prawns in a chilled batter to get that perfect crunch.
Preparation:
STEP 1- In a bowl take 10 ice cubes, add 4 TBSP of corn flour and 4 TBSP of refined flour/maida. Add ½ TSP of salt and ½ TSP of black pepper powder. Pour ½ a can of beer. Mix it well to form a clumpy batter.
You can substitute beer with non-alcoholic beer.
STEP 2- In a fryinfg pan, pour 250 ML of refined oil. In about 3 mins on medium high flame the oil should be hot enough to fry the prawns.
STEP 3- Now, coat the prawns first in corn flour, then dip it into the batter and finally drop it into the hot oil. In about a min the prawns should be golden in colour. Take them out on a paper towel.
Fry the prawns in batches and avoid overcrowding the frying pan.
STEP 4- Now in another frying pan, pour 1 TBSP of refined oil. Add half of the chopped garlic and the onions. Sauté it for about 40 secs.
STEP 5- Add the green chillies and the remaining chopped garlic. Sauté it for another 40 secs.
STEP 6- Add 1 TBSP of vinegar and ½ TSP of salt. Saute it for another 20 secs.
STEP 7- After 20 secs, add 1 TSP of Dark Soya Sauce.
STEP 8- After 20 secs, add the Sichuan peppercorns. Throw in the fried prawns. Mix everything well and cover it with a lid.
STEP 9- After a min, your Shunli Style Fried Prawns should be ready. You can serve it as a starter or a side to your noodles or fried rice.