Goan Recipes

Posted: 31 Jan 2013 01:29 AM PST

Today we have a dish thats one of the Chef's favorites and personally one of mine as well. This is the sweet and sour prawns. Although you can also replace the prawns with pork or chicken. We always make it with prawns and I generally end up some of the batter fried prawns in the process.

There's quite a few ingredients and it does take a bit of an effort for this one, but the outcome makes it all worth it.

Sweet and Sour Prawns Ingredients:

2 Cups Prawns (If you are using meat, cut it into 1 to 1 1/2 messages)
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons Maida
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Sweet and Sour Sauce Ingredients:

1 & 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock or a Cube
8 Tablespoons Tomato Ketchup
6 Tablespoons Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soya Sauce
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ajinomoto Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Chilli Powder

Vegetables to Accompany the Sauce

2 -3 Spring Onions
1 Capsicum
1 Cucumber
1 Carrot
1 Firm Tomato
2 - 4 Beans
2 Rings of Pineapple (Optional)

Hope i've got all the ingredient's right, cross checking but humans make mistakes, its not intentional.

Heat a little oil in the pan and the a more in a kadai to deep fry the prawns (we shallow fry)

While that's happening mix the prawns with the maida

Break the egg

Add the salt, baking powder and ajinomoto to the mixture

Mix it all up.

Add a little corn flour if you want the prawns a little crispy.

The oil that you were heating in a pan should be hot enough to begin sauteing the onions.

Put the chicken cube in a glass of water

The goal is to dissolve the cube, but don't stress about it if there are a few lumps, it should get dissolved while cooking.

By now your onions should be turning nice and golden brown.

Begin frying the battered prawns.

Add the stock to the fried onions along with the chilly powder

Add the batter fried prawns to the hot oil in the Kadai

Add the vinegar and soya sauce to the stock.

Add the sugar next

And finally you can add the tomato ketchup, do remember all the addition are done with stirring.

For those who fancy it this way, you can remove all the onions from the stock at this point of time.

Don't forget to keep an occassional check on the prawns, by now they should either be ready or you already have your next batch in.

To thicken the sauce we need a little bit of corn flour

Add a little water to some of the corn flour and stir it well,

Keep it aside for a while, you have a few things to check as per taste, check for sweetness, sourness, colour and flavour.

If you want it more sour, add some vinegar.

If you want it more sweet add some sugar.

Add sauce for more colour and the saucy taste.

Keep checkin on the prawns and turn them around for them to get golden brown on both sides.

Add the corn flour mixture to the sauce and mix it well.

Bring this to a boil and voila your sauce is now ready.

Hope fully all your prawns are done as well,

Now its time to get those veggies done, if you like use some of the oil that was used for the prawns to pass on some of that delicious flavor to the vegetables.