Vietnamese Prawn Skewers (Chao Tom) - Chef Recipe by Nina 'Teddie' Huynh

Ingredients

350 g raw prawns
3 cloves garlic
1 pinch salt
1 tsp sugar
1 Tbs fish sauce
1 egg white, beaten until frothy
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 long red chilli , de-seeded and finely chopped
2 spring onion stalks, finely chopped
1 lemon zest
Sugar cane, skin peeled and quartered into 12 cm lengths, (lemongrass sticks add a nice aromatic touch if you don’t have sugarcane) Oil for frying

Method

Rinse and devein the prawns, then pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels.

Place the prawns, garlic, white pepper chillies, salt, sugar, fish sauce and lemon zest into a food processor. Blend until a smooth paste forms. Transfer the prawn paste to a bowl and fold in the spring onions.

Beat the egg white until frothy. Combine the prawn paste with the beaten egg white and mix well. (this step will add more Albumin to the mix to help it stay together during the shaping process).

Chill the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes.

After chilling, divide the prawn paste into equal portions.

Oil both hands and wrap the prawn paste around the skewer, shaping it evenly while leaving about 4 cm from the bottom.

Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the Ch?o Tôm until golden brown.

Serve immediately with lettuce, fresh aromatic herbs and vermicelli noodles.

Credits: Aquaculture Stewardship Council

Photo Credits: Aquaculture Stewardship Council