Prawns with Lemongrass & Palm Sugar

This is one of those stand-by recipes to have up your sleeve. I always keep a bag of green prawns in the freezer for those ‘just in case’ days and then find myself making this again, quite often. The lemongrass and Thai basil give a fresh clean taste but the palm sugar is the magic ingredient. I ring the changes with cous cous, pasta or noodles to bulk it up, depending what’s in the pantry, they all go well with the other ingredients.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

500g shelled, butterflied green prawns
3-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of ginger, finely chopped
1-tablespoon lemon grass, white part only, finely chopped
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded, finely sliced

2 kaffir lime leaves, chiffonade
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1-tablespoon water
3 handfuls Thai Basil, torn
Fettuccine or noodles or cous cous

Method:

Pre-cook enough fettucine/noodles/cous cous for four people depending on the brand instructions. Drain and set aside.

Heat your wok to high beforehand then add the oil and allow it to come to temperature then add the onion, garlic, chilli, lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass. Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. Add the prawns and turn until they change colour and become opaque – one or two minutes. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and water. Cook for another minute or so then turn off the heat. Add the cooked noodles and gently turn through Add torn basil just before serving.