Ketchup prawns with ginger and spring onion, Chinese style
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
The ketchup fries in the oil for fifteen seconds before the prawns go back in, and that short time takes away its raw-sauce taste: it darkens a little and coats better. I leave the shells on during cooking because the flesh stays juicier inside them, even if it means peeling them at the table with your fingers.
Ketchup prawns are a classic of Chinese home cooking. The sauce brings together ketchup, Shaoxing rice wine, soy sauce and ginger: it's sweet and tangy, with no chilli. Success comes down to the searing. The prawns, raw and well dried, get twenty seconds a side in a smoking wok, then finish cooking in the sauce. Serve them with plain rice and a stir-fried green vegetable, such as aubergine and green beans with garlic.
Chinese ketchup prawns (qiézhī xiā)
Large raw prawns seared in their shells, then coated in a sauce of ketchup, Shaoxing rice wine and soy sauce, flavoured with ginger and spring onion.
For 3 or 4 people, use a 32cm wok and sear in two batches: the prawns should fit in a single layer.
Ingredients
For the prawns
For the aromatics
For the sauce
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 32cm wok (36 to 38cm for more than 4 people)
- Small scissors to devein the prawns
- Wok spatula
- 3 ramekins
- Saucepan with a lid for the rice
Method
Start the rice
Rinse 300g jasmine rice until the water runs almost clear, then cook it following the packet instructions. Start it first: it cooks while you prepare the prawns.
Prepare the prawns
If they're frozen, thaw the prawns overnight in the fridge, or for 10 to 15 minutes in a bowl of cold water. Rinse them, snip along the back of the shell with small scissors and pull out the black vein with the tip of a knife. Dry them carefully with kitchen paper: they should look matt, with no beads of water. To serve them peeled, remove the shells but leave the tails on.
Prepare the aromatics and the sauce
Peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices. Thinly slice the garlic. Cut the spring onions into 5cm lengths, keeping the whites and greens separate. Fill three ramekins: 6 tbsp ketchup in the first, 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine with 1 tsp sugar and ¼ tsp white pepper in the second, 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce in the third. Once the wok is hot, you won't have time to measure.
Sear the prawns
Heat the wok over a high heat. Sear the prawns in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1 tablespoon of oil, wait until it starts to smoke, spread the prawns out in one layer and leave them for 20 seconds without touching them. Turn them for another 20 seconds (15 seconds a side if they're peeled). They turn pink on the outside and stay translucent in the middle. Set them aside on a plate with their juices.
The aromatics
Turn the heat down to low and add 1 tbsp oil. Add the ginger and let it infuse for 15 seconds, then add the garlic and the spring onion whites. Turn the heat up to medium-high and stir-fry for 10 seconds: the garlic should smell strong without colouring.
Fry the ketchup
Add the ketchup and stir it in the oil for 15 seconds. It darkens slightly and the oil turns orange.
Return the prawns
Put the prawns back in the wok with the juices from the plate. Pour in the ramekin of Shaoxing wine, sugar and pepper, then stir for 10 seconds.
Reduce the sauce
Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, a little longer for 6 or 8 people, until the sauce thickens and coats the prawns in a glossy layer. There should be almost no liquid left in the bottom of the wok.
Finish and serve
Add the spring onion greens, stir for 10 seconds and tip everything into a serving dish. Serve with the rice. These prawns can be eaten hot or at room temperature, which gives you time to cook another dish in the same wok.
Wok tips
- Dry prawns, in a single layer: if they overlap or are dripping, they cook in their own water instead of searing and the shells stay soft. Above 300g, do an extra batch.
- Take the prawns out of the wok while they're still translucent in the middle. They finish cooking in the sauce; cooked right through at the searing stage, they turn rubbery.
- In a stainless steel wok, heat it empty until a drop of water rolls across the metal like a bead without evaporating, then add the oil. Any cooler and the prawns stick. A well-seasoned carbon steel wok is more forgiving.
- On induction, let the wok heat for 2 minutes at full power before the first batch and stir with the spatula without lifting the wok: the hob cuts out as soon as the base leaves it.
Variations
- Without Shaoxing wine: the same amount of dry sherry. Alcohol-free: 3 tablespoons of chicken stock and 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar, for 4 people.
- Without ketchup: 3 tablespoons of tomato purée, 1½ tablespoons of sugar, 1½ tablespoons of rice vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water replace the 6 tablespoons of ketchup, for 4 people. Passata on its own won't do, as it lacks the sugar and vinegar.
- Spicier: a sliced fresh red chilli with the garlic, or 1 teaspoon of sambal oelek added with the ketchup.
- Sweet and sour: 150g pineapple chunks added with the prawns, and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar with the soy sauce.
Storage
24 hours in the fridge at most, in an airtight container. Reheat in the wok over a high heat with a tablespoon of water, for a minute at most, as prawns toughen quickly. Keep the rice separately.
The Yakushi Wok Family Size
Uncoated stainless steel, Ø 38cm, no seasoning needed
Frequently asked questions
Which prawns should I buy?
Large raw prawns, king or tiger prawns, about 20 to 30g each, heads off but shells on. Frozen ones work very well: thaw them overnight in the fridge and dry them before cooking.
Can I use cooked prawns?
Best avoided: an already cooked prawn toughens as soon as it goes back into a hot wok. If that's all you have, skip the searing and add them to the sauce for 30 seconds, just to warm them through.
Should I leave the shells on?
With the shells on, the flesh stays juicier, but the sauce coats the shells and you peel the prawns at the table with your fingers: put out a bowl for the shells and some napkins. Peeled with the tails left on, the prawns take up the sauce better and cook for 15 seconds a side.
Are ketchup prawns spicy?
No. The sauce is sweet and tangy, with no chilli or strong spice, just a little white pepper. For more heat, put a fresh chilli in with the garlic or a little sambal in with the ketchup.
