Char-grilled Five Spice Prawns

Name: Char-grilled Five Spice Prawns
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 500g green prawns, peeled and deveined; Fresh herbs, for serving; Sweet Fish Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham), for serving; Steamed jasmine rice, for serving; ½ small brown onion, finely diced; 2 cloves garlic, finely minced; 1 kaffir lime leaf, thinly sliced; 2 teaspoons fish sauce; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; 1 teaspoon coconut cream; 1 teaspoon castor sugar; ½ teaspoon Chinese five spice; ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon pickled minced chilli

These char-grilled prawns are a great filling for bánh xèo (Vietnamese rice flour crêpes). They’re also delicious served simply with a platter of fresh herbs and leaves – such as perilla, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, bean sprouts and lettuce – plus some steamed rice and Vietnamese pickled vegetables. Marinated prawns can be threaded onto skewers for a barbecue too. However you serve them, add some nuoc mam cham (see video below), the sweet fish sauce that accompanies every Vietnamese meal for drizzling or dipping. The five-spice in the marinade shows the Chinese influence on Vietnamese cuisine. Add all of the marinade to the pan with the prawns. Once you’ve removed the prawns from the pan, cook the remaining marinade for another minute or 2, until it caramelises, then scrape it up and add it to the prawns. Try a glass of Olga Emmie off-dry riesling from Pikes alongside these five-spice prawns. You’ll find tips on storing prawns for maximum freshness here.

Serves 2

Ingredients

500g green prawns, peeled, deveined, cut into bite-sized pieces (1lb 2oz)
Nuoc mam cham (sweet fish sauce), for serving
Lettuce and Asian herbs, for serving
Steamed jasmine rice, for serving
Pickled ground chilli, for serving (optional)
Vietnamese pickled vegetables, for serving (optional)

Five-Spice Marinade

½ small brown onion, very finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 makrut lime leaf, very finely sliced (kaffir lime)
2 teaspoons fish sauce (10ml)
2 teaspoons soy sauce (10ml)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil (10ml)
1 teaspoon castor sugar (5g/⅕oz)
1 teaspoon coconut cream (5ml)
1 teaspoon pickled ground chilli
½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

Method

Make Five-Spice & Turmeric Marinade: Combine all ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold the prawns.
Add prawn, stir to coat well and press down to submerge as much as possible. Cover and set aside for at least 30 minutes; if refrigerating for longer, remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow them to come to room temperature.
Meanwhile, pre-heat a barbecue plate, char-grill pan or cast iron frying pan to medium-high heat.
Cook prawn and marinade for about 2 minutes, turning occasionally until opaque almost all the way through (they’ll keep cooking in the residual heat after you remove them).
Remove prawn pieces to a bowl and keep cooking the remaining marinade for another minute or 2, until well caramelised; add to the prawn.
Transfer to a platter and serve with Sweet Fish Sauce, lettuce and steamed rice. Add some Vietnamese pickled vegetables and pickled ground chilli too if you like.