<strong>How to make…Kung Pao prawns</strong> Antonio Lopez, head chef at Teatro restaurant at the Park Rotana, shows us how to make this Sichuan dish with prawns, chicken or tofu <strong>Ingredients for the main dish:</strong> 500g prawns/chicken/tofu 50g onion, roughly chopped 10g dried chillies 15g roasted peanuts 25g button mushrooms Sprinkling of chopped spring onions Chopped garlic and/or ginger to taste Drizzle of sesame oil <strong>Ingredients for the sauce:</strong> 4 tablespoons soya sauce 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce 3 teaspoons black vinegar 2 teaspoons white sugar 2 teaspoons water Garlic chilli bean paste to taste Corn flour to thicken <strong>Method:</strong> For the sauce, simply mix all the ingredients together and heat only enough to dissolve the sugar. Set aside. - Trim, clean and chop your prawns/chicken/tofu. If using chicken, boneless thigh meat is best. Lightly coat them in corn flour before deep frying in corn oil or similar, using a wok on a high heat (ideally gas), for about a minute. Drain and set aside. - Using the same wok coated with oil, quickly fry your garlic, chilli or ginger as desired, before adding the onion and mushrooms and prawns. Toss in the sauce, drizzle with sesame oil, add a pinch of salt, add in the peanuts and chopped spring onions, remove from heat and serve with jasmine rice. <strong>The cheat sheet</strong> - The marinade, without the corn flour or any added garlic, can be prepared in advance and stored in a sealed bottle for up to 6 months. - Don’t use chicken breast, as it’s too dry - If you don’t have jasmine rice, other rice such as basmati can be used - Chef Lopez uses the Hong Kong Lee Kum Kee brand of chili bean paste, also known as toban djan; it and other brand come in a jar and are available from normal supermarkets. - The black vinegar contains rice, wheat bran, sugar and salt, and is available at Chinese supermarkets or the oriental section of some hypermarkets. Chef Lopez uses the Gold Plum brand from China.
