Ground dried prawns, kung haeng in Thai, are used in many Asian dishes – and good ones can become addictive. They’re essential in some curry pastes, such as Thai sour orange curry, and delicious sprinkled over salads. In Thailand, chef David Thompson dries them the traditional way, in the sun, where they typically take about 5 hours on a hot day (see video below). A very low oven does the trick just as well and you can make dried galangal, ginger and turmeric at the same time. Once dried, the pieces of prawn keep for weeks refrigerated and months frozen. They start to lose their flavour once ground however, so it’s best to store them in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer and grind just enough to use for each recipe. If they soften slightly, pop them in a low oven for 15–30 minutes before grinding, just long enough to firm them up. When recipes call for whole dried prawns, use the tiny commercially-dried ones available in the chiller section of Asian grocers, as they look much prettier; the best are larger (still only a couple of centimetres long).
Makes about 2 tablespoons (14g)
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