I love cooking on the plancha - Spanish for a hot metal plate - for the searing heat and golden crust you can get on seafood. The aromatic and spicy Thai sauce nam jim is the hottest condiment we use in the restaurant and is perfect with the prawns.
Nam jim dressing:
| 10 | Red chillies, halved legthwise, seeded and roughly chopped (Main) |
| 3 stalks | Fresh coriander, roots attached |
| 2 | Garlic cloves |
| 3 cm | Fresh ginger, peeled |
| 50 g | Palm sugar, grated |
| 60 ml | Fish sauce |
| 250 ml | Lemon juice |
Prawns a la plancha:
| 1 tsp | Coriander seeds, crushed |
| 12 | Raw prawn cutlets, peeled with heads left on (Main) |
| 1 tsp | Curry powder |
| 3 Tbsp | Extra virgin olive oil |
| 1 to taste | Salt |
| 1 | Lemon, juiced |
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Directions
Nam jim dressing:
- Place the chillies in a blender with the coriander, garlic and ginger. Pulse to a thick paste, then add the palm sugar.
- Continue to blend until the sugar has dissolved, before adding the fish sauce and lemon juice. Season to taste with more fish sauce if required. The dressing should be hot and sour.
Prawns a la plancha:
- De-vein the prawns by cutting down the back with a sharp knife and removing the thin black intestine. Rinse the prawns in cold water.
- Mix the coriander seeds with the curry powder and oil, and marinate the prawns in this mixture for 20-30 minutes. Then insert a wooden skewer from the base of the tail towards the head of the prawn.
- Grill the prawns on a hot plancha or saute in a hot frying pan. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve the prawns with the nam jim in a shot glass alongside.
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