Honey Pecan Prawns

Here in California, we can get some of the best Chinese food in the country, thanks to the many Chinese immigrants who have settled here over the years. Perhaps it's that easy access that has deterred me from tackling Chinese food seriously as a cook, or perhaps it's the complexity of the cuisine that has intimidated me. In any case, I make a dandy stir-fry at the end of the week out of the leftover vegetables and bits of meat in the fridge, but I almost never attempt to make any of the more popular restaurant dishes at home.

However, this week was different: since I am doing articles that feature mayonnaise, I decided to tackle prawns in a creamy mayonnaise sauce, most commonly known as "honey walnut prawns" in restaurants. This dish has long been my favorite at our local Chinese restaurant, and it seemed tailor-made for my series on the seven sauces of California Cuisine. Instead of walnuts, I used pecans, partially because of my Texas heritage (pecans are the state nut, and a personal favorite), but also because I happened to have candied pecans on hand. I also used pecan oil in which to fry the shrimp, which was a very happy coincidence--you see, since I almost never fry food, the bottle of vegetable oil that I had had gone rancid. Not wanting to have to go to the grocery store just for oil, I decided to use the pecan oil because I had it on hand. Well--the combination of the candied pecans, the shrimp fried in pecan oil and the tangy sweet and sour sauce was really quite delightful!

Enjoy this dish with a nice glass of Gewürztraminer or a nicely oaked chardonnay.

Ingredients
  • 1 pound extra large raw shrimp--deveined, shelled (including tails)
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1.5 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
  • 1.5 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • cooked white or brown rice
  • vegetable oil (for frying (I used pecan oil and it was DELICIOUS!))
  • candied pecans (or walnuts)
Instructions
  1. 1
    Combine the mayo, sweetened condensed milk, honey, fresh lemon juice and salt in a bowl until smooth and creamy; cover and set aside.
  2. 2
    Heat oil a large Dutch oven to about 360*. I used my candy thermometer to monitor the temperature of the oil.
  3. 3
    Dry the prawns with paper towels to get the moisture off them. Place the corn starch in a large bowl and add the shrimp. Toss to thoroughly coat the shrimp with the corn starch.
  4. 4
    Once the oil reaches about 360*, add the shrimp about 8 at a time (depending on the size of your Dutch oven--you want to avoid overcrowding). The trick here is to put the shrimp into the oil, and then to make sure the temperature doesn't fall too much during cook time. The goal is to fry the shrimp at about 350*.
  5. 5
    The shrimp will cook very fast, so keep an eye on them. Mine were a little overcooked at 3 1/2 minutes, so I'll be cooking them for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes the next time. Make sure to flip them at least once during the cook. Once cooked, turn them out onto paper towels to drain, bring the oil back up to about 360* and do the next batch. The shrimp will cool off, but not too much.
  6. 6
    Once the shrimp are fried, toss them in the mayo sauce and fold in some candied pecans (or walnuts).
Note

This was a surprisingly easy dish to make and it was really good. My issue with it is the sweetened condensed milk, which comes in a 10 oz can. Since this recipe calls for only about 1.5 tbsp of it, I was left with practically a whole can of unused product. I have learned that sweetened condensed milk freezes beautifully, so that's what I'm going to do. I also read that it doesn't freeze solid because of the sugars, so when you're ready to use it, all you have to do is to scoop it out of the container.

Read it online: https://thestonesoupcook.com/recipe/honey-pecan-prawns/

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