The best, springy-est, bouncy-est, prawns are those that are swimming and live just before cooking. Hmm, that sounds so obvious.
There is a popular Chinese dish–Drunken Prawns–where live prawns are cooked in front of you. If you are squeamish and an animal activist don’t read the next paragraph.
The prawns are placed in a ceramic pot, the fire under the pot is lit, and wine is poured in. As the prawns jump up and down, a lid covers them. Sometimes one or two escape and jump on to the table. Mostly, they are covered and cooked and then everyone gets to eat the freshest prawns.
Super fresh shrimp has that lovely bounce. Shrimp that has been sitting for too long on the ice and feels limp and soft to the touch won’t give you that springy bite.
In Singapore, we have a fish wholesale market, the Jurong Fishery Port, where fishing boats bring in their haul for auction to fish retailers. Seafood sold in such markets is really fresh. We do have the Fish Market on Maine Avenue in DC, but I’m not sure if it is fishing trawlers that deliver their fresh catch there. Most neighborhood markets sell stuff that has been chilled at best, or frozen and defrosted.
For me, the best option to getting fresh, bouncy shrimp is to use frozen. These are processed right at sea. I’ve found the frozen shrimp from Costco really good and love that I can have two bags of different size prawns in my freezer that I can defrost in several hours. For cooking I like the shelled, de-veined with tail on, raw shrimp best.
Generally I prefer around 25-30 prawns per pound, peeled, (which are large to me) for cold prawn, deep-fried, barbecue or prawn soup noodles; anything from 36 to 50 prawns per pound (medium size) for steaming and stir-fry; and from 50 to 70 prawns per pound (small size) for fried rice, stir-frying with other ingredients but also steaming.
Preparing the prawns
Leave frozen prawns in colander. Rinse quickly and then leave to drain in colander and sink. They will take about 4-5 hours to defrost.
When they are slightly thawed and soft, sprinkle salt on prawns. Two teaspoon of salt for one pound of shrimp is sufficient. Toss quickly with a spoon. This will give the prawns the nice bounce. Set aside to continue draining until ready to fry.
Just before frying, sprinkle cornstarch over prawns and toss to dry and coat prawns well.
You may also pour egg white over the prawns first and then add cornstarch just before cooking.
For recipe on Stir Fried Prawn In Ginger Garlic Sauce, click here.
When I was in junior college and the Jurong Fish Market (the name then) was just opened, we went for a field trip to try and buy fish. Try haggling among fish sellers, who do this for a business. We went their during peak business hours–past midnight to am–and came back with a modest catch that we barbecued. I have some pictures from my yearbook in 1969!
