One of my happy food memory is at a tapas bar called El Quim inside the famous La Boqueria market in Barcelona. After spending the morning exploring the city, it was a perfect break to take up a seat at one of the many famous tapas bars inside the market and enjoy some of the most fresh seafood in the world. This dish is inspired by the Gambas Al Ajillo (garlic prawns) served by El Quim, where the cooking is kept simple with just a bit of garlic, butter, wine followed by flash frying to seal in the juice, so the hero of the dish shines. Elements from Japanese, French and Italian cooking were also brought in for this dish so you can mop up the juice from the prawns with a pasta, and trust me, you'll want to lick the plate once you've tried it. Deliciosa.
Difficulty: Medium
Time: 15min prep, 30min cooking
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Scarlet Prawns
- 4 scarlet prawns with shells
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 tbsp kombu dashi*
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp oil
Scarlet Prawn Oil/Crispy Prawn Legs
- legs from the scarlet prawns
- 8 tbsp oil
Coral Sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp kombu dashi*
- 2 tbsp chicken stock
- 2 heaped tbsp thick cream
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Squid Ink Fusili
- 1 cup squid ink fusili**
- 1 ltr water
- 1 tsp salt
Dressing
- black garlic oil
* I've used the bottled ones from Japanese grocery. Kombu dashi is a stock made from dried sea kelp, it adds a umami flavour to any seafood dishes, or actually, any dishes.
** This is for a light meal, but you can cook more if you want to turn it into a substantial meal. I would also increase the portion of chicken stock and cream a little so there is a bit more sauce for more pasta.
Method
1. Prepare the prawns by carefully removing all the legs, leaving the whole prawn with its shell on top intact.
2. Make the marinade by mixing the light soya sauce, kombu dashi, sake and mirin (1 tbsp each) in a glass bowl with 1 clove of minced garlic. Put the prawns in making sure it's covered well by the marinade and set aside.
3. Heat up the oil in a small pot and deep fry the prawn legs in batches until crispy. Take it out and place it on a kitchen towel.
4. Start cooking the pasta in a separate pot with hot water and salt until al dente. The fusilli I used takes about 13 minutes to cook. Drain the pasta once cooked, stir through 1 tbsp of the prawn oil and keep warm in a bowl for later.
5. Melt 2 tbsp of butter with 1 tbsp of oil on medium heat, place the prawns on its belly upright inside the pan. Add in the marinade, and the additional mirin, sake, and kombu dashi, close the lid and cook for about 5min or until the prawns are cooked through.
6. Take the prawns out carefully and set aside. Add in the chicken stock to loosen the sauce, and stir in the cream and the tomato paste until fully mixed. Taste and make final adjustments to seasoning, finish with the lemon juice and take it off the heat.
7. Assemble by pouring the sauce on the plate, a generous drizzle of the prawn oil, followed by the prawns, and garnish with crispy prawn legs and black garlic oil. Don't forget to use the pasta to mop up all the lovely sauce on the plate!
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