Skip to main content

Assam Prawns


Assam Prawns is one of my family’s favorite assam dishes. Great when enjoyed with just some steamed rice. One of the key ingredients in this mouth-watering dish is the fresh “bunga kantan” or torch ginger flower. Unfortunately, whenever I cook this dish in Vancouver, I had to substitute it with frozen or dried torch ginger flowers instead as it’s not available over there. I took the opportunity to cook-up this Assam Prawns using fresh torch ginger flowers which are available everywhere here in Kuala Lumpur. Simply fantastic!


*This is an updated post with a video cooking guide. (Previously posted on 08/27/10)


Assam/Asam Prawns

Ingredients

Spice Paste
20 g Dried Chilies, soaked in boiling water and drained
3 Fresh Red Chilies, seeded
100 g Shallots, peeled
15 g Fresh Turmeric, peeled
4 Candlenuts
2 tsp Shrimp Paste (Belacan)

4 to 5 Tbsp of Peanut Oil
80 g Polygonum Leaves
3 Fresh Ginger Torch Flowers (Bunga Kantan), halved
50 to 80 g Tamarind Pulp + 3 ½ Cups of water
2 to 3 Tbsp of Sugar
6 to Large River Prawns or 800 g Large Prawns
1 medium Red Onion, sliced
12 Okra (lady fingers)
2 Tomatoes, quartered
1 Cup Freshly cut Pineapples
Sea Salt to taste
15g Fresh Mint Leaves

Method



Finely grind the spice paste ingredients with a little water in a blender or food processor.

In a large wok or saucepan, heat the peanut oil over low to moderate heat. Cook the spice ingredients until fragrant (about 5 minutes)

Then add the torch ginger and polygonum leaves. Cook the mixture for about 4-5 minutes. Turn the heat on high and mix in the tamarind water and sugar. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Then add the prawns, onions, okra, tomatoes, and pineapple. Bring the mixture to a boil again and reduce the heat to simmer until the prawns and vegetables are cooked. Season the Assam prawns with sea salt and sugar, if necessary. Serve immediately with some fresh mint leaves.

Comments

  1. That looks delicious. I like the combination of okra, tomatoes, and pineapple.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmm one of my fave dish but it's always screaming for more rice :p

    Thank you for participating!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just reading the ingrediants is making me drool. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Angie, thank you for sharing your assam shrimps with us! Lovely photography and styling, as always.

    I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet up with you whilst you were in KL. Oh, well! I can learn more about the meet-up from Wendy and Swee San later ... =)

    Happy Merdeka Day to you! Take care!

    With warmest regards from KL,
    Pei-Lin

    ReplyDelete
  5. Haha, I just posted up assam fish! Yours look very good ... want to swope! Had an invite from Pei-Lin to join "Merdeka Day" but unfortunately am a bit late, next year then! In the meantime I am enjoying the visual feast.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This looks delicious. I love the prawns in shell, they're so aesthetically pleasing. Now if I can just figure out where to find these ingredients in Reno, NV, I'll definitely give this a try!

    ReplyDelete
  7. i love assam anything, especially prawns. this looks amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love prawn dishes and this one looks nice and hearty !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi. Where did you find dried torch ginger in Vancouver?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hasselback Potatoes

These Hasselback potatoes looks beautiful, don't' they? Here, I also added several cloves of garlic to these Swedish version of baked potatoes to enhance the flavor. It turned out great, they were very delicious, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.. Updated: November 26th 2013 This is an updated post with a new video guide on How To Slice Hasselback Potatoes Hasselback Potatoes (Printable Recipe) Ingredients 6 Medium Size Potatoes 2 - 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp Olive Oil 30 g Butter Maldon Sea Salt Freshly Ground Black Pepper Method Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals. Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake the

Raw Energy Bars~Chocolate, Cashew, And Almond

I get energized everytime I make Raw Energy Bars at home. I have tried several recipes and flavors before; but, this Chocolate, Cashew, and Almond flavor is currently my favorite! It's made from scratch using raw ingredients, such as Medjool dates, cashew, almond, cocoa, and coconut. You will be amazed with the end result. Not only are these bars good for you, they also taste great! So, if you are into raw energy bars, then you may want to try this recipe. If possible, please send me your feedback as well. Have a great weekend.

Dumplings

I'm actually laughing at myself! What have I got into? Trying to make dumplings?? Well, I have seen my late grandmother make them a long time ago. I can remember the ingredients but not the measurements! So, it took me about two hours to come up with the perfect recipes, and I'm glad I did! It was an instant hit! They were all gone, all gobbled up! Make the dough first, add about 480 to 500g of all-purpose flour with 300ml of water. Knead the dough and let it rest. You should be able to make 40 dumplings with the dough. Meanwhile, prepare the filling for the dumplings. Click here for the dumpling wrappers video. UPDATED: November 26th 2013 This is an updated post with a new photo and video cooking guide. Dumplings Ingredients 200g Ground Pork 100g Prawns, finely chopped 200g Napa Cabbage, finely shredded 1 stalk Scallions, finely minced 80g Chives, finely chopped 20g Ginger, finely minced 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil 1 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing W