TONIGHT’S SPECIAL

Tonight’s Transform a pack of prawns into a takeaway favourite in less time recipe BARNEY DESMAZERY special than you would need to have it delivered photograph DANIELLE WOOD

Sweet & sour prawns

The prawns here can be swapped for strips of chicken breast or beef tenderloin, but they’ll take a few minutes more to cook through in the hot oil. We’ve chosen to go without pineapple in this version, but if you want, you can simply add half a can of drained pineapple chunks with the ketchup and soy.

SERVES 4 PREP 15 mins COOK 15 mins MORE EFFORT

300g raw king prawns 2 tbsp soy sauce 40g cornflour sunflower oil, for deep-frying handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped cooked rice, to serve For the sauce 1 red onion, roughly chopped 2 red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely grated thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely grated 1 tbsp golden caster sugar 100ml malt vinegar 2 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1 Tip the prawns in a bowl and mix with the soy, then set aside for a few minutes. Stir in the cornflour. 2 Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat to a depth of about 3-4cm. When it’s shimmering or a cooking thermometer reads 170C, fry the prawns in batches for about 2 mins until crisp and golden, turning them with a slotted spoon halfway through. Carefully lift onto a plate using the slotted spoon. Turn off the heat. Leave the pan for a few minutes to cool down. 3 Carefully pour all but 1 tbsp oil from the wok – keep the remainder for use in another recipe or discard. 4 Put the wok back on a high heat. When the oil is shimmering, carefully add the onion and peppers, and stir-fry for 1 min. Add the garlic and ginger, and continue to cook for 30 seconds, then scatter over the sugar and pour in the vinegar. Turn up the heat and boil for 2 mins. Stir in the soy and ketchup to make a thick, glossy sauce. When you’re ready to serve, tip the prawns back into the pan and stir to coat in the sauce. Scatter over the chopped coriander and serve with cooked rice on the side.

GOOD TO KNOW vit c • 1 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 263 kcals • fat 13g • saturates 2g • carbs 25g • sugars 15g • fibre 3g • protein 10g • salt 3.03g