Five spice shrimp with crispy noodles

• 400g (15oz) fresh or frozen and thawed king prawns, peeled and deveined (about 100g per person)
• sea salt
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. Chinese Shaoxing wine, sake or dry sherry
• 2 tbsp. cornflour
• 200g (4 nests) medium egg noodles
• groundnut oil
• 400g (just under 1 pound) pak choi, chopped very roughly
• 2 red peppers, cored and sliced into thin strips
• 200g (7oz) shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 large clove of fresh garlic, peeled and pressed
• ¼ tsp cayenne or mild chili pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
• a few spring onions, roughly chopped
• a few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped
• lime wedges, for garnish

METHOD

1. Sprinkle the prawns with salt, sugar and the five spice. Add the soy sauce, the wine and toss in a bowl with the corn flour. Leave to marinate at least 15 minutes, chill if keeping them longer. Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, drain and rinse with cold water. Drizzle with a little oil and shake off the liquid well on a colander.

2. Prepare a large serving dish that you will be layering the stir fry on and warm it up in low oven or a warming drawer until really hot.

3. Heat the wok with about 2 tbsp. oil. When hot, add the noodles and toss them frequently until crispy. Place around the edge of the serving dish and keep warm.

4. Wipe the wok with paper towel and turn the heat down to medium. Add the pak choi and stir fry for 3-5 minutes until just wilted. Transfer to the serving dish.

5. Turn the heat under the wok to high again with 2 tbsp. of oil. Lift the prawns from the marinade and add to the wok in a single layer (do it in batches if necessary). Let them cook on one side until pink, turn them over with a spatula or chopsticks and cook on the other side for a minute. Lift them onto the pak choi on the serving platter.

6. Add the peppers and mushrooms to the wok, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and stir fry for 5 minutes until they start to soften – you might add a splash of water to help them along and to get the stuck on marinade off the bottom of the wok.

7. Add the ginger, garlic and cayenne pepper to the vegetables and stir fry until fragrant, 1 or 2 minutes. Spoon the vegetables onto the prawn layer on the serving dish. Drizzle with sesame oil, sprinkle with sesame seeds, chopped onions and coriander and serve immediately with lime wedges.

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See also

prawns with tomato stew

spicy prawns

shrimp burgers