This is a simple yet flavorful curry dish. I like crushing the prawn heads to make flavorful stock rather than cooking them together with the meat. There is nothing wrong with cooking whole prawns complete with shells and heads but I see the boys take so much time taking them out plus the fact that W won’t touch the heads even if his life depends on them. Pointless din, ‘di ba? Naiinip lang ako sa tagal kumain. He reminds me of my bro who would take his time peeling a serving of shrimps before eating whilst the rest of us are the peel-and-eat kind of people.
Ingredients:
A bowl of fresh prawns, cleaned, shelled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced
Curry powder
1 small can of coconut cream
Patis (fish sauce)
1/2 tsp sugar
A handful of fresh spinach leaves, washed
2 Stalks of spring onion, cut thinly
A dash of freshly ground pink salt (optional)
Separate the prawn heads from the body. Careful not to discard the fat on the base of the heads.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add prawn heads and cook for about 5 minutes, crushing and tossing frequently over medium heat until deep orange. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the stock. Discard the heads.
Return the saucepan to the cooking hob. Heat a bit of oil and fry garlic until fragrant. Add onion and saute for a minute. Add curry powder and cook over low to medium heat until onions are softened.  Add coconut cream and reserved stock. Bring to boil. Season with patis, sugar and a bit of salt, then simmer for 5 minutes.
Add prawns and simmer for a couple of minutes or until prawns are cooked just right for you. Transfer to a serving bowl. Add young spinach leaves and gently toss to mix. Garnish with spring onion.
- A bowl of fresh prawns, cleaned, shelled and deveined
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, diced
- Curry powder
- 1 small can of coconut cream
- Patis (fish sauce)
- ½ tsp sugar
- A handful of fresh spinach leaves, washed
- 2 Stalks of spring onion, cut thinly
- A dash of freshly ground pink salt (optional)
- Separate the prawn heads from the body. Careful not to discard the fat on the base of the heads.
- Heat oil in a saucepan. Add prawn heads and cook for about 5 minutes, crushing and tossing frequently over medium heat until deep orange. Add ¼ cup of water and bring to boil. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Strain and reserve the stock. Discard the heads.
- Return the saucepan to the cooking hob. Heat a bit of oil and fry garlic until fragrant. Add onion and saute for a minute. Add curry powder and cook over low to medium heat until onions are softened. Add coconut cream and reserved stock. Bring to boil. Season with patis, sugar and a bit of salt, then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add prawns and simmer for a couple of minutes or until prawns are cooked just right for you. Transfer to a serving bowl. Add young spinach leaves and gently toss to mix. Garnish with spring onion.
My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.
Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.
I love seafood curry, and this one really looks great! I haven’t tried eating raw spinach, but I will soon!
Visiting from Food Trip Friday
Hi,
We’ve recently launched the site Everyrecipe.co.nz, where users can search through thousands of recipes from the best food sites and blogs of New Zealand.
We noticed that you have a lot of delicious recipes on your blog and would like to suggest you have a look at our Top Food Blogs section here: http://www.everyrecipe.co.nz/top-food-blogs.
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Everyrecipes.co.nz
Thank you for the invite, Emilie! I will have a look soon and join
very delicious food presentation..:)
Food Trip Friday…Durian Again
January recently posted Durain Feast
oh, this is mouth-watering!
will definitely cook this at home.:p
Luna Miranda recently posted Joy/Sky-Watch Friday
What a great curry dish, and I can sympathize with your bro, I also peel and collect the shrimps before eating it, just makes it more fun…great post!
the food dude recently posted What’s in the Fridge…Bagels and Cream Cheese
what a great recipe with prawn and the spinach makes me crave and cook today. lets see if I could buy fresh spinach in the market..
nuts recently posted FTF #102: Arroz a la cubana
I love prawns and this dish looks awesome! Fab recipe!
Charles Bjørnsen Ravndal recently posted Lovely Fall In The Norwegian Rain
Thank you guys
I really love this dish and hope you guys will try it and like it, too.
you make it sound so easy! would love to try this…
thanks so much for sharing and linking over at Food Friday, Iska
sensya na sa uber late visit and comment…sigh.
maiylah recently posted Food Friday