In summer we like to enjoy light and healthy meals. It is a great time to give a lot of use to the grill and, of course, also the wok . You are going to love the recipe that Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour , brings us as it is very easy to prepare, tasty and very original.

Today it's fast food, and international, with a very combination of "Thai" gastronomy. Thai prawns with coconut and ginger, with a slightly spicy touch, softened by the aromatic touch of coconut milk.

In the photo, Bérard olive wood chopping board , and Ken Hom wok .

These prawns, as you can imagine, we are not going to accompany them with bread, it would be almost a sacrilege, but with a Thai rice or Jasmine rice, with its aromatic and soft aroma, which is not even painted with the coconut sauce. The rice will soak and collect all the sauce and each bite will be like transporting you to a remote place in Thailand.

Freshly made it is divine, but for my taste, if we let it rest for 1 hour, it is even better, since in this way we give the stew time to settle the flavors and you don't know how. Of course, do not go overboard with the heat when heating the dish, or you will spoil the prawns with coconut milk.

I have prepared it in my Ken-Hom Wok , which has allowed me to sauté the onions and prawns very quickly, at a high temperature, leaving them completely juicy, as I explained when we talked about " Cooking with a Wok ", but also the wok is not only used to sauté, but it has served us to cook later, in just 6-8 minutes, this dish with this exquisite coconut and ginger sauce, which is to lick your fingers. As you can see, a fast, complete dish to eat special and not spend time in the kitchen, especially now that the good weather has arrived and what you want is to go out and enjoy the outdoors.

Among the spices that we have used to prepare the condiment, is turmeric, which gives it that intense yellow color. Traditionally called the "queen of the species". Let's go with the recipe!

Ingredients

(For 4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder
• 1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons apple or white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 onions cut into feathers
• 500gr of fresh prawns (only unpeeled tail)
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and seeded, cut into small squares
• 180ml of coconut milk
• ground black pepper
• fresh coriander
• Salt
• thai rice

Preparation

Let's cook the Thai Arror first:

Thai Rice is a long-grain, slightly translucent rice that is usually steamed in bamboo baskets. In this case we can also cook it with our wok, filling the wok with water and placing the bamboo basket on it, without it touching the water, with the same process as the traditional way in the West, but instead of keeping it for 10 minutes inside the water, we will keep it steamed for 20 minutes. The rest all the same.

1. To cook it in the traditional Western way, we wash the rice under cold tap water to remove excess starch and prevent it from getting caked. Although it does not have as much starch as our round rice, it is convenient to carry out this operation. If we are going to steam it, we can even soak it for a couple of hours and the cooking time will be reduced by half (10 minutes).
2. Put a medium thick-bottomed saucepan over high heat and add 1 cup of rice and 1 cup of water. The thick bottom of our casserole will help us so that the rice does not burn. Still take a look. When it starts to boil add the salt, lower the heat to low-medium and cover the pan. Leave like this for about 10 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand for 5-10 minutes without uncovering the pan.
3. Fluff the rice with a fork, separating the grains, and transfer to a bowl. We booked.

Let's go with the prawns in coconut and ginger sauce:

First of all, we will proceed to prepare all our ingredients, "mise en place", because this dish, as I have already warned you, can be prepared in less than 15 minutes, but yes, we must have everything prepared beforehand to add it to our wok .

1. We begin by preparing the seasoning that will be the one that gives color and flavor to our dish. I use the coffee grinder (I don't use it for anything else) but you can also do it in the mortar . Mix the grated ginger, the pressed or crushed garlic, the turmeric powder, the minced and seedless chilli, and the vinegar. Blend until a dense, yellow paste forms, and set aside.
2. Peel the onions and cut them into thin feathers. We booked.
3. Peel and seed the tomato and cut it into squares.
4. We remove the heads of the prawns (they will serve us to prepare an exquisite seafood stock) and keep the tails intact, without peeling. We booked.
5. We put our Wok on the fire. When it smokes, add the two tablespoons of sesame oil and the onions, sauté without stopping moving at any time, either with a wooden spoon , or with wrist movements, turning the onions throughout the container. We add the seasoning almost immediately and keep moving everything, so that it is impregnated with the seasoning, until the onions are soft (2 minutes).
6. Add the prawns and sauté for another 2 minutes in the same way, until we see that they have taken on that beautiful orange color.
7. Add the tomato and sauté it for another 2 minutes with the rest of the ingredients.
8. It is time to add the coconut milk. Mix well, cover and cook over low heat for about 6 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the prawns are tender. Clever.
9. Add the ground pepper, and season with salt.
10. We serve covered with chopped coriander and accompanied by our Thai Rice.

To enjoy.
Virginia.