Wasabi Mayo Praws

A quick dive into the story of wasabi prawns. I first had it at Peach Garden in Singapore with my family when I was a teenager and it has since been a family favourite whenever we dined at the restaurant. These prawns are crispy, slightly spicy and very juicy! I’m not sure how Peach Garden make it to perfection but they do the best!

So… since living in another continent and with no wasabi prawns available in French restaurants, I decided to make my own version. There’s one “secret” ingredient that is a quite a shocker but ties in really well with the heat of wasabi - Condensed milk.

The spiciness of the wasabi, combined with the creaminess of mayonnaise makes a great sauce and the sweetness of condensed milk balances the wasabi heat. Put the sauce mixture together with fresh, crispy and springy prawns and voila! Below’s recipe is my take of a pretty darn close version of my family’s favourite dish at one of our favourite restaurant in Singapore.

Ingredients

• 500 grams fresh large prawns (approximately 15 pieces)

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp fine salt

• 1 beated egg white

• 5 tbsp corn flour

• 200~ ml frying oil (i used sunflower)

Sauce

• 3 tbsp wasabi paste

• 3 tbsp french / Japanese mayonnaise

• 3 tbsp condensed milk

• 3 tbsp water

Garnish

• Diced fresh mangoes

• Ebiko prawn roe / fish roe

• Black sesame seeds

Method

1. De-shell and devein the prawns. Use big fresh prawns you can get. Wash the prawns, drain and dry in a bowl.

2. Add a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar and 1 beated egg white to the prawns and mix well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

3. In a separate bowl, add in mayonnaise, wasabi paste, condensed milk and water. Mix well.

4. Coat the chilled prawns with cornflour, turn up the heat of the pan and deep fry until golden brown.

5. While fried prawns are still hot, mix in the wasabi mayo sauce.

6. Transfer the coated prawns to a serving plate and garnish with freshly diced mangoes and sesame seeds. Ebiko or fish roe is great too!