Mustard River Prawns

Ingredients

• River Prawns
• Garlic
• Wasabi
• Light Soy Sauce
• Starch
• White Pepper Powder
• Sugar
• Oyster Sauce
• Salt
• Chili Peppers (Serrano or Bird's Eye - omit or substitute with red bell pepper if you do not like heat)
• Butter
• Cooking Oil

Steps

1. **Preparing the Prawns**:
2. Cut the prawns open along their backs to remove the dark line (vein) and the sand sac. You can also cut along the belly; this will cause them to puff up when fried, making the dish more visually appealing.
3. Rinse with clean water. After draining the moisture, you can coat them with starch. You may also proceed without coating.
4. **Preparing the Garlic Sauce and Sauce Base**:
5. Chop 2 cloves of garlic into minced garlic.
6. Prepare the sauce base: Place light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, white pepper powder, and salt in a bowl. Squeeze in wasabi according to personal taste, add water to dilute it, then stir in starch to dissolve.
7. **Cooking Process**:
8. Heat the wok and pour in cooking oil (enough to cover the bottom of the wok).
9. Place the drained river prawns in the wok and fry slowly.
10. Once enough shrimp oil has rendered (indicated by large bubbles in the wok), add the prepared minced garlic and chili peppers.
11. Once the aroma of the garlic is released, add the butter.
12. After the butter has melted, stir-fry evenly, then pour in the prepared sauce base.
13. Cover the wok with a lid and steam/braise for 2 minutes. When the sauce thickens, remove from heat and serve.