Ching-He Huang's Korean prawn BBQ tapas
Summer is here! Change up you BBQ and try Ching's super tasty and quick Korean prawn BBQ tapas!
Korean prawn BBQ tapas
Serves 4 to share
Prep 25 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Ingredients
300g jasmine rice
2 little gem lettuce heads, separated into 12 large leaves
1-2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp clear rice vinegar or seasoned sushi vinegar
4 x 5g packs thin crispy fried seaweed
For the wok-fried prawns:
3 garlic cloves, smashed and roughly chopped
1 tbsp doenjang or miso paste
Pinch of salt
1 tsp (approximately) golden caster sugar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp tamari or light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
Drizzle clear honey or golden syrup
Pinch cracked black pepper
12 tiger prawns, shelled, head removed, tail on, butterflied and deveined
To serve
1 daikon, peeled and sliced into thin 7-8cm rounds
6 garlic cloves, sliced to serve
Doenjang (Korean soybean paste) or ssamjang (Korean spicy barbecue dipping sauce)
Method
1. Rice: Wash the rice well until the water runs clear. Place the rice in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. Add 600ml water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and let the rice cook in its own steam for 20 minutes. When the rice is cooked, fluff up the grains and pour into a shallow dish to cool. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
2. Salad: Prepare the lettuce leaves. Separate the leaves, wash and pat dry, then place on damp kitchen towels to keep fresh. Chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
3. Once the rice is cooled, drizzle over toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar. Massage in with your hands. Crush over the crispy fried seaweed and work into the rice. With clean hands, take a tablespoon of the rice and roll it in the palms of your hands to make a small, oval ball - it should come to a slight point at the ends. Keep going to make 20 crispy seaweed hand-rolled rice balls. Set aside.
4. For the prawns: In a small bowl mix the garlic, doenjang, pinch of salt, sugar, sesame oil, tamari, Shaohsing rice wine, drizzle of honey or golden syrup and cracked black pepper. Add the prawns and coat thoroughly in the marinade.
5. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until smoking. Once hot remove the prawns from the marinade and add to the pan. Cook for 1 minute each side or until the prawns turn pink. Tip out onto a plate.
6. To serve, lay out all the components on the table, including doenjang or ssamjang in little bowls. To assemble, take a little gem leaf in your palm and. place a small ball of seaweed rice in the centre, top with 2 prawns, daikon and sliced garlic. You can top with a little doenjang or ssamjang if liked. Repeat. Wrap up the leaf and eat immediately.
Tips
Doenjang and ssamjang are Korean pastes and can be bought online and in some supermarkets in the international section, or in Asian supermarkets.
Daikon is found in some supermarkets or international stores. A good swap is sliced radishes or cucumber.