Garlic Prawn

Ingredients

• 8 Sea prawns
• 50 g Garlic paste
• 20 ml Cooking oil
• 5 ml Light soy sauce

Method

Split each prawn lengthways through the head down to 1 cm above the tail. This shellfish incision exposes maximum surface area to heat and allows the garlic paste to work into the meat as it steams; it also helps the prawn cook evenly through the thick head section where the meat is densest.

Pack the garlic paste into the split. Press it down the length of the body and into the head cavity — the paste should be visible in the opening when you're done. Arrange the prawns split-side up on a heatproof plate that fits inside your wok or bamboo steamer with room for steam to circulate beneath.

Steaming the prawns over rapidly boiling water for 3 minutes cooks them gently and preserves their sweetness. The prawn meat will turn opaque and firm; the garlic will soften and meld with the shellfish's juices, building a savoury emulsion in the plate's well. Listen for vigorous rolling boil — not a simmer. If the water only steams, the heat won't translate to the meat fast enough and the seafood-cookery turns rubbery.

While the prawns cook, heat the oil in a separate pan until it shimmers and just starts to smoke. This temperature matters: cool oil won't carry the garlic's volatile compounds; oil that's too hot risks bitterness. The moment the prawns leave the steamer, pour the hot oil directly over them in a thin stream. It will hiss and crackle against the garlic and prawn juices, blooming the garlic's flavour through the hot-oil-finishing technique and creating a punchy, fragrant base.

Finish with a drizzle of light soy sauce — the salt anchors the garlic and cuts through the oil's richness. Serve immediately on the same plate, spooning the pooled juices and oil-garlic emulsion over the meat. Do not let the dish sit or it cools and the oil congeals.