I've been cooking so much recently (which I have loved) that I’ve now got a lot to catch up with here and lots of recipes to share. Can’t wait!
Will start with these little fried prawn balls I made a few nights ago – and I think everyone liked them. Well, they ate them! These are good served with a cucumber dipping sauce or with sweet chilli sauce.
They’re also really useful as once cooked you can just shallow fry -as I’ve done here – for a snack or starter, or use in noodle dishes or in soups and curries. Or once cooled they will keep in the freezer for a couple of months to use another time.
You can fry them as they are or thread onto wooden skewers (soak the skewers in water for half an hour before using). I didn’t have any skewers the other evening so used wooden toothpicks with just two prawn balls on each – and actually thought they looked so cute it’s my favourite way to serve them.
These take a little time and have a few stages in the process of making them – and generate a few pans to wash up – but are really simple and it’s well worth giving them a try!
To make about 20 small prawn balls you’ll need:
a small piece of pork or a tablespoon or so of pork mince (optional but it’s good to have a bit of fat in them)
a packet of raw prawns (approx 200g), defrosted if frozen, and de-veined
zest of one lime
a small handful of coriander leaves
half a red chilli, chopped
one garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
one egg white
plain flour
If it’s not already minced put the piece of pork into the food processor first and give it a quick whizz to mince.
Then add all the other ingredients except the flour …
Pulse to combine thoroughly and then add the flour straight in, a little at a time, and pulse again.
Add flour until the mixture starts to hold together. It takes quite a bit of flour so just add it steadily bit by bit and pulse each time.
Put a saucepan of water on to boil and whilst waiting for it to boil make the fish balls.
Using two teaspoons, make little scoops of the mixture into balls and set aside until the water is boiling.
Then drop the fish balls into the water one at a time and when they’re all in wait for the water to return to the boil – which will take a minute or two – and boil for a couple of minutes.
Drain …
… and then either cool before freezing or using in other dishes, or thread onto bamboo skewers/toothpicks to fry.
Heat oil in a pan and fry until golden, turning a few times. It will take probably a good five minutes.
And then serve with some sweet chilli sauce and eat. And that’s it!
Hope you like these – let me know in the comments.
PS. The step-by-step pictures that look like they were taken on my phone … they were!
The two gorgeous shots were taken by my photographer friend Viktoria Kuti – and very many thank you's Vik. (viktoriakuti.com)
