This dish is a must try! This dish is so nice that on the same day I first tried this dish, I immediately asked for recipe from my friend’s mum and went home to cook on the same day!
I must share this recipe! The prawns are cooked and marinated in a bowl of herbal brine made with Hua Diao Wine, wolfberries, Dang Gui (angelica roots), rock sugar and some fish sauce.
It’s so simple yet the taste is beyond simplicity. The sweetness of the succulent fresh prawn that soaked up the aromatic herbal sauce from the overnight marination. Together with the fragrance of Hua Diao Wine.. omg.. it’s just heavenly.
Ignore the table manners! Just use your hand, grab the prawn, suck up all the juice from the prawn before you start peeling off the shells.
You will need to plan in advance as you need to marinate the cooked prawns in chilled herbal brine. Marination of the prawns take at least 6 hours, best overnight. Example, I need to serve this dish on Sunday, preparation starts on Fri or Sat morning. This dish is meant to serve chill. Alternatively, omit the 600 ml of water. Replace it with 600g of ice after removing the brine from the heat. This will instant chill the brine and you can cook the prawns and add in immediately without waiting for the brine to chill.
Add the very hot boiled prawn into the chilled brine immediately when the prawns are cooked. The contrast in the temperature allows the prawns to absorb the brine better.
Do multiply the recipe if you require bigger portion.
- 300 ml Hua Diao Wine (Chinese Shao Xing Wine)
- 600 ml Water (or 600g ice cubes, to add after removing the brine from the heat; refer to note)
- 2 Tablespoon Wolfberries
- 10g Dang Gui (Angelica Root)
- 4 tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 12 small piece rock sugar (approx. 20g)
- 1 litre water
- 500g Prawns
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the herbal brine and bring to boil over medium heat
- Once boil, transfer the brine to a container
- Cover and chill overnight in the fridge or until cold
- *refer to note to skip the chilling step for the brine.
- boil 1 litre of water in a saucepan over high
- Add in prawns, salt and lemon juice and bring it to boil; about 3 minutes (do not overcook the prawns)
- Drain off the water and transfer the prawns into the cold herbal brine
- Cover and chill the prawns with herbal brine in the chiller
- Marinate overnight or at least 6 hours for the prawns to fully absorb the brine.
- Serve chill
At step 3- do the prawns need to be cooled down before put into the cold herbal brine?
No you don’t need to. Just at the just boiled prawn into the chilled brine. This way, the contrast in the temperature makes the prawns absorb the brine better.
Nice!!
Thank u 😊
Can this be served warm instead?
You can but personally I think the prawns taste better when it’s cold. The cold temp makes every single component shine. U can try both & see which one u prefer 😊
How to make a hot version of this dish, like what Jumbo Seafood serves?
You can but personally I think the prawns taste better when it’s cold. The cold temp makes every single component shine. U can try both n see which one u prefer 😊
my dear si fu, my hairs drop after scratching n wordening wat on earth is Brine Solution, sound so high class….. kekeke…. guan lai si salt water. tks for the tips, i wanna try the chicken wing recipe. Good day !!
Haha no prob. Enjoy
I prefer hot soup. Is it nice to make it hot before serving?
You can but personally I think the prawns taste better when it’s cold. The cold temp makes every single component shine
Ty so much for the effort in sharing. Appreciated!
Hi Amy, thanks!
Dish looks amazing. for the rock sugar, do you mean the tiny pieces that comes in a packet, like those sold at Chinese medical halls?
Yes.. u can also get it from ntuc..
Served it at a party. Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Wow that’s great! U r most welcomed. Thanks for the feedback too!
Can I know the brand of hua tiao jiu. I may hv used the wrong type because it doesn’t taste good.
may I know which brand of fish sauce did u use?
Hi there, I use TIPAROS.
Tried and it was very well received! Thank you for sharing ^_^
You welcome! We love it very much too! Just made 1 big pot yesterday again hehe
If serve hot, I will still need to chill for at least 6 hours the boil?
Hi Kris, if serve hot, you can actually just cook the prawns in the brine. this will allow the prawn to absorb the flavor and aroma from the brine when cooking.
Great recipe! I’ve made it a few times and absolutely love it. Especially great with live prawns. Very easy and wonderful dish to bring for a pot luck. Not a cheap one though 🙂
Thanks for the review! Glad that you love it. haha yeah.. an occassional indulgence.
Thanks for sharing the recipe ❤️ Cooked it twice recently and everyone loved it.
Wow! glad that everyone loved it. 🙂