Chinese prawn omelette

SERVES 4 PREP AND COOK TIME 30 MINUTES (+ REFRIGERATION TIME) 2 teaspoons cornflour

2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing wine)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper 24 (700g) uncooked medium king prawns, shelled, deveined

¼ cup (60ml) peanut oil

1 medium (200g) red capsicum, cut into thin strips

4 green onions (green shallots), cut into 3cm lengths

8 eggs oyster sauce, bean sprouts, coriander and crispy fried shallots, to serve

1 In a bowl, combine the cornflour, Chinese cooking wine, soy sauce and white pepper. Add the prawns and refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour. Heat one-quarter of the oil in a 22cm frying pan (base measure) over high heat and stir-fry 8 prawns for about 2 minutes or until browned and just cooked through; remove to a bowl. Repeat twice more with remaining prawns.

2 Add 1 teaspoon oil to the same pan and stir-fry the capsicum and shallots for 1 minute or until softened. Remove from pan.

3 Beat 2 eggs together with 1 tablespoon water. Heat ½ teaspoon oil in the frying pan, then tip the egg in and swirl to coat the base of the pan. Lower the heat to medium and, using a spatula, move egg towards centre, swirl the pan, and let the uncooked egg run underneath.

4 When the egg has almost set (after about 2 minutes), place 6 prawns and one-quarter of the vegetable mixture over half of the omelette. Season with ground white pepper. Using a spatula, carefully fold the omelette in half. Cook for a further minute or so. Transfer onto a plate. Repeat for the remaining three omelettes. Serve with oyster sauce on the side, and top with bean sprouts, coriander and crispy fried shallots. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.