Zesty Chile Tiger Prawns

 

Publishing note: I have no idea why the strange spaces are showing up in the text.  It is not an "artistic" endeavor on my part.  Hopefully it is not too annoying...

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of cooking with a young friend.  It was so much fun - I got to do some "teaching" about cooking techniques, which I love to do, and she was chatty, responsive and asked lots of questions.  All in all a great time!

A and I made a Chinese dish for that night's dinner.  Now a bit of back story:  I have never been a fan of Chinese, being only exposed to it in Americanized restaurants, with breaded and fried meat, thick and cloying sauces, and very little flavor. 

But Bo loves it.  He grew up eating more authentic Chinese food and couldn't understand why I didn't love it.  So there has been an education for almost three years to move my palate toward this cuisine
and its varied flavors.  So this is one of my first attempts at a Chinese dish.

This recipe was found on Cooking Channel from the show Chinese Made Easy.  It was ok - it didn't
knock my socks off, but it certainly wasn't bad.  It was a nice dish.  It was fresh and healthy tasting.
These are too many possible reasons that this wasn't a must-immediately-make-again dish.  Maybe
this is how it is supposed to taste.  Of maybe my inexperience caused mistakes.  Either way my
education continues...

And it was fun to cook with A!!
Zesty Chile Tiger Prawns (Recipe courtesy Ching-He Huang)

• 2 tablespoons groundnut oil (peanut or canola)
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium red chile, finely chopped
• 7 ounces raw Tiger (jumbo shrimp) or King prawns (langoustines), shelled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 ounces French beans (green beans), chopped into 1/2-inch lengths
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried chile flakes

Heat a wok or pan over a high heat, and add the groundnut oil. Add the garlic, and chiles, and stir-fry for a few seconds. Then, add the prawns, rice wine or sherry, and the lime juice, and stir-fry until the prawns start to turn pink.

Add the French beans, and mix together. When the prawns have all turned pink, season with the salt, and chile flakes, and serve immediately.