Pan's Prawns

About 20 years ago there used to be a Chinese restaurant round the corner from Holborn station - long gone regretfully. It was relatively inexpensive but had many dishes I had never seen before (or since).

My two faves were a dish with broad beans (which I really cannot stand in any other way but have never managed to duplicate) and this prawn concoction which is pretty easy even for somebody as reluctant to deep fry as I am (and it's not on health grounds - I nearly started a kitchen fire many, many years ago and have been pretty much terrified to by the concept ever since).

For this, I scale the deep frying experience down into an un-scary experience I can go through without hyperventilation kicking in.

I remember the restaurant being called Pan's, but others recall different names. But hey, this is my blog so I'm going with the name I remember. (If you know what the restuarant was REALLY called, do let me know - it was under the strange arch where the office building goes over the road)


Pan's Prawns

INGREDIENTS

Prawns - about 6-8 king prawns per person
1 egg
Cornflour
Ginger
Garlic
Honey
Sesame seeds

METHOD

1. Finely slice one garlic clove per person
2. Chop ginger into small pieces
3. Break egg into bowl and beat
4. Put cornflour into second bowl
5. Dip prawns into egg and the roll around in cornflour to coat thoroughly
6. Using the smallest saucepan available to you, put 2" of oil into the bottom (OK, if you are happy deep frying in a proper pan, go ahead)
7. When oil is hot place garlic and ginger into pan
8. Once the 'chips' are golden brown remove with a slotted spoon and place onto kitchen towel to drain any remaining oil
9. Fry the floured prawns until coating is light golden brown (about 3 mins) and add to kitchen towel
10. Once all prawns are cooked, remove oil from heat (OK, I'm paranoid)
11. Place prawns onto serving dish and drizzle honey over the top
12. Sprinkle sesame seeds over prawns and honey then add crispy ginger and garlic to top
13. Serve with rice

In it's original form, it was served nestled into a couple of leaves of iceberg lettuce - I must admit that I only serve it that way for a party - this tends to be served dished up on plates to prevent unseemly violence over that last prawn...