HONEY SESAME KING PRAWNS

SERVES 4 PREP 20 MINS COOK 10 MINS

24 medium green prawns (see left), peeled, deveined, tails intact ¼ cup cornflour vegetable oil, to shallow-fry ¼ cup honey ¼ cup shao hsing (Chinese cooking wine) 2 tbsp light soy sauce 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 bunches asparagus, halved 1 Lebanese cucumber, seeded, julienned 1 carrot, julienned 2 green onions, shredded 2 tsp light soy sauce, extra ½ tsp sesame oil 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted coriander sprigs, steamed rice or noodles, to serve

1 In a glass bowl, combine prawns and cornflour, tossing to coat.

2 In a wok or large frying pan, heat oil on high. Shallow-fry prawns, in 2 batches, 1-2 mins each batch until they change colour. Drain on paper towel.

3 In a clean wok, combine honey, shao hsing, soy and garlic. Bring to boil on high. Add asparagus and simmer 1-2 mins. Add prawns. Stir-fry 1 min until prawns are cooked through.

4 In a bowl, combine cucumber, carrot, onion, extra soy and sesame oil.

5 Serve prawns topped with cucumber salad, sesame seeds and coriander sprigs. Accompany with steamed rice or noodles.