Garlic prawns with broccoli and baby corn
Written by Estelle & Alice for The Wok House
A wet prawn won't sear: in the wok, it releases its water and cooks in it instead of browning. So I always pat mine dry with kitchen paper, then cut along the back so they open out like butterflies as they cook. The marinade does the rest: the Shaoxing wine adds flavour, and the cornflour keeps the flesh tender and thickens the juices at the end.
Stir-fried prawns with broccoli (xilanhua chao xiaren) is an everyday dish in Chinese home cooking. This version, with garlic and light soy sauce, adds baby corn and purple sprouting broccoli, with its long, thin stems, which is mostly in season from February to April. Tenderstem or small florets of ordinary broccoli replace it the rest of the year. The prawns cook separately, in a single layer, and only go back into the wok at the end, once the vegetables have had two minutes under the lid in a few spoonfuls of water.
Garlic prawns with broccoli and baby corn
Prawns marinated in Shaoxing wine and cornflour, seared over a high heat, then tossed with purple sprouting broccoli and baby corn cooked under the lid with garlic and soy sauce.
For 3 to 6 people, use a 32cm wok with its lid. The prawns go in 2 or 3 batches, and the vegetables fit under the lid without being packed in.
Ingredients
For the prawns
For the vegetables
To cook and serve
Equipment
- 32cm well-seasoned carbon steel wok with a lid
- Small knife to cut the prawns
- Kitchen paper
- Wok spatula or wooden spatula
- Saucepan for the rice
Method
Put the rice on
Rinse 300g jasmine rice in a bowl of cold water, changing the water two or three times, until it stays almost clear. Cook it as the packet says: it will have finished cooking and resting by the time the stir-fry is ready.
Prepare the prawns
Thaw frozen prawns overnight in the fridge, or for 10 minutes in a colander under a trickle of cold water. Lay each prawn flat and cut along the back from end to end, two thirds of the way through, without cutting it in half: it will open out like a butterfly as it cooks. Remove the black vein if there is one. Pat the prawns with kitchen paper until they feel dry to the touch.
Marinate the prawns
In a mixing bowl, toss the prawns with ¼ tsp salt and 2 tsp Shaoxing wine. Sprinkle over 2 tsp cornflour and mix until each prawn has a thin matt coating, with no lumps. Leave for 10 minutes while you prepare the vegetables.
Prepare the vegetables
Cut the purple sprouting broccoli or Tenderstem into 5cm lengths, and halve lengthways any stems thicker than a finger. With ordinary broccoli, cut 3cm florets and slice the peeled stalk into batons. Halve the baby corn on the diagonal. Crush the garlic cloves with the flat of the knife, peel them and chop them finely.
Sear the prawns
Heat the wok over a high heat until it is lightly smoking. Sear the prawns in 2 batches: for each batch, add 1 tablespoon of oil, spread the prawns out in a single layer and leave them for 1 minute without touching them, then turn them and give them 30 seconds to 1 minute more. They're ready when they're pink, starting to curl and still slightly translucent in the centre. Set them aside on a plate and let the wok smoke again before the next batch.
Fry the garlic
Turn the heat down to medium. Add 1 tbsp oil to the wok, then the garlic. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds: it should sizzle and smell strong while staying pale gold. If it browns, it turns bitter.
Cook the vegetables under the lid
Turn the heat back up to high. Add the broccoli and baby corn and stir-fry for 30 seconds to coat them in oil. Pour in 1 tbsp soy sauce and 3 tbsp water, cover straight away and cook for 2 minutes (3 with ordinary broccoli). The broccoli is ready when it's bright green and the tip of a knife goes into the stem with a little resistance.
Return the prawns and serve
Take off the lid. If there's a lot of liquid left in the bottom, let it reduce for 30 seconds. Return the prawns with their juices and stir-fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until they're opaque all the way through: the cornflour from the marinade thickens the juices, which coat the vegetables. Taste and add salt if needed. Off the heat, add 1 tsp sesame oil, then serve straight away with the rice.
Wok tips
- The prawns should sizzle loudly as soon as they touch the metal. If you only hear a faint hiss, the wok isn't hot enough or the batch is too big: they release their water and stew in it. Keep to a single layer per batch and let the wok smoke again before the next one.
- On induction, heat the wok for 2 minutes at full power before the first batch, then turn it right down for the garlic: the metal stays very hot and the garlic browns in seconds. A flat-bottomed wok stays in contact with the hob.
- In a new or poorly seasoned carbon steel wok, the cornflour from the marinade sticks to the bottom and the prawns tear when you turn them. A well-seasoned wok, heated until it smokes before the oil goes in, lets them go with a flick of the spatula.
- Take the prawns out while they're still slightly translucent in the centre: they finish cooking with the vegetables. A prawn curled into a C is done; curled into a tight O, it has overcooked and turned rubbery.
Variations
- Without Shaoxing wine: the same amount of dry sherry, or nothing at all. The salt and cornflour in the marinade are enough to keep the prawns tender.
- With oyster sauce: add 2 teaspoons of oyster sauce with the water and cut the soy sauce down to 2 teaspoons, as oyster sauce is salty too. The juices turn browner and coat the vegetables better.
- Without baby corn: 150g sugar snap peas, or a carrot cut into thin rounds, added with the broccoli.
- With chilli: a fresh red chilli, thinly sliced, added with the garlic, or 1 teaspoon of chilli garlic sauce poured in with the soy sauce.
Storage
This stir-fry is best eaten straight from the wok: reheated, the prawns turn tough and the broccoli loses its green. If there's any left, keep it until the next day in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat it for 1 minute in the wok over a high heat with a spoonful of water, no longer. Keep the rice separately.
The Shirane Japanese Wok
Carbon steel, Ø 32cm, free lid
Frequently asked questions
Do you need to thaw frozen prawns before stir-frying them?
Yes. Still frozen, they release a lot of water and stew in it instead of searing. Thaw them overnight in the fridge, or for 10 minutes in a colander under a trickle of cold water, then pat them dry.
How long do you cook prawns in a wok?
Allow 2 to 3 minutes in total for medium peeled prawns: 1 minute on one side, 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other, then a last toss with the vegetables. They're cooked when they're pink and opaque in the middle. Any longer and they turn tough.
Can you use cooked prawns?
Yes, but skip the marinade and the searing. Add them only at the last step and stir-fry them for 1 minute with the vegetables, just long enough to heat them through. They stay firmer than raw prawns cooked in the wok.
What can I use instead of purple sprouting broccoli?
Tenderstem, a cross between broccoli and Chinese broccoli (gai lan) with long, thin stems, which cooks the same way. Otherwise, use ordinary broccoli: cut it into 3cm florets, peel the stalk, slice it into batons and give it 1 minute longer under the lid.
