Prawns in coconut and ginger sauce with Thai rice

In summer we like to enjoy light and healthy meals. It's a great time to make a lot of use of the grill and, of course, also the wok. The recipe brought to us by Virginia, author of Sweet&Sour, is going to delight you since it's very easy to prepare, tasty and very original.

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

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

These prawns, as you can imagine, we won't accompany with bread, that would be almost sacrilegious, but with Thai rice or Jasmine rice, with its aromatic and delicate scent, which goes perfectly with the coconut sauce. The rice will soak up and collect all the sauce and every bite will be like transporting you to a remote corner of Thailand.

Freshly made it's divine, but for my taste, if we let it rest for 1 hour, it's even better, since this way we give the stew time to settle the flavors and you wouldn't believe how. That said, don't overdo the heat when reheating the dish, or you'll ruin the prawns with coconut milk.

I prepared it in my Wok Ken-Hom, which allowed me to sauté the onions and the 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 useful for stir-frying, it also served to braise afterwards, in just 6-8 minutes, this dish with this exquisite coconut and ginger sauce, which is finger-licking good. As you can see a quick, complete dish that's special to eat and not spend time in the kitchen, especially now that good weather has arrived and what you want is to go out and enjoy the outdoors.

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

Ingredients

(For 4 servings)

• 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 1 small red chili without seeds and very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons apple or white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 onions cut into thin slices
• 500gr fresh prawns (only tail with shell on)
• 2 peeled and seeded tomatoes cut into small dice
• 180ml coconut milk
• Ground black pepper
• Fresh cilantro
• Salt
• Thai rice

Preparation

First we cook the Thai Rice:

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

1. To cook it the traditional Western way, we wash the rice under cold tap water to remove excess starch so it doesn't become sticky. Although it doesn't have as much starch as our round rice, it's advisable to do this. If we're 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. Place a medium saucepan with a thick base over high heat and add 1 cup of rice and 1 of water. The thick bottom of our pan will help prevent the rice from burning. Still, keep an eye on it. When it begins to boil add the salt, reduce the heat to low-medium and cover the pan. Leave like this about 10 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and let rest about 5-10 minutes without uncovering the pan.
3. Fluff the rice with a fork, separating the grains and transfer to a serving dish. Set aside.

Now for the prawns in coconut and ginger sauce:

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

1. We start by preparing the seasoning that will give color and flavor to our dish. I use a coffee grinder (I don't use it for anything else anymore) but you can also do it in the mortar. Mix the grated ginger, the pressed or crushed garlic, the turmeric powder, the chopped seedless chili, and the vinegar. Blend until a dense yellow paste forms, and set aside.
2. Peel the onions and cut them into thin slices. Set aside.
3. Peel and seed the tomato and cut it into small dice.
4. Remove the heads from the prawns (they will be useful to make an exquisite seafood stock) and keep the tails intact, unpeeled. Set aside.
5. Heat our Wok. When it smokes add the two tablespoons of sesame oil and the onions, sautéing while stirring constantly, either with a wooden spoon or with wrist movements, tossing the onions around the pan. Add the seasoning almost immediately and continue moving everything so it soaks up the seasoning, until the onions are soft (2 minutes).
6. Add the prawns and stir-fry for another 2 minutes in the same way, until you see they have taken on that beautiful orange color.
7. Add the tomato and stir-fry for another 2 minutes with the rest of the ingredients.
8. It's time to add the coconut milk. Mix well, cover and let cook over low heat for about 6 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the prawns are tender. Done.
9. Add the ground pepper, and adjust the salt to taste.
10. Serve topped with chopped cilantro and accompanied by our Thai Rice.

Enjoy.
Virginia.