Pumpkin King Prawns

The family first had this prawn dish at the Gillman Village Bali Seafood Restaurant. We, especially the kids, love this dish very much mainly because of the magical pumpkin sauce that is sweet, buttery with a tint of curry aroma.

The seafood restaurant together with many other retail shops, hip bars and restaurants had since moved out of Gillman Village as the land has been earmarked by the Economic Development Board (EDB) for redevelopment into a premier location for art and creative businesses.

I attempted a few times at home to recreate this dish before finally getting it right - the same version that we had at the seafood restaurant. Ashley and Audrey confirmed that.

You can leave the prawn shell on if you like but the kids prefer the shelled prawn balls version. They are easier to eat (like the wasabi mayonnaise prawns) and the kids like to have lots of the pumpkin sauce with their rice.

Give this a try! 元宵节快乐!

Ingredients

600g large King Tiger Prawns (Shelled, slit back and deveined)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp curry leaves

1 tsp chopped chili padi

100 ml evaporated milk

100 ml pumpkin (butternut squash) puree*

100 ml water

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar 

1 egg white

cornflour

Directions

Dip the prawns in egg white, then coat evenly with cornflour.

Drop them into very hot oil, then turn down the heat to medium, until prawns turn crisp. Dish and drain. Keep aside.

Melt butter in wok and saute curry leaves and chili padi until fragrant. Add in evaporated milk, pumpkin puree, water and seasoning and bring to boil. Adjust the seasoning/taste** to your liking.

Add in prawns and stir fry at high heat until well mixed. Dish up and serve immediately.

* To make butternut squash puree, simply steam skinned squash slices on high heat for 10 minutes or until cooked. Use a food processor or handheld blender to blend into puree. The puree can be pre-made and kept in fridge/freezer until needed.

** You can increase the evaporated milk:water ratio if you like a thicker sauce.

I am submitting this post to Chinese New Year Delights 2013 hosted by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover.