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3-Ingredient Shallot Prawns

Posted on July 12, 2020June 27, 2021 By Alexandra Wong No Comments on 3-Ingredient Shallot Prawns

Shallot prawns – this wonderfully simple, yet astonishingly delicious recipe comes courtesy of Auntie Choong, matriarch of the family that lived across the road.

The Choong family played a big part in my formative years. Dear Auntie Choong had ten children, out of whom I was close to a few, particularly her youngest son Mark. My childhood was marked by fond memories of Auntie Choong and my mum walking to each other’s houses bearing the latest food they had cooked.

The perks of living in small towns: neighbours are truly neighbourly.

“Wong Thai (Mrs Wong) ah,” Auntie Choong would call from outside our gate. “I just made some Teochew kuih. Let you try.”

The next day, it would be my mum’s turn to hail from their gate, “Choong thai ah , I just made some mooncake. Please try and let me know whether it’s as good as yours.”

Yes, Auntie Choong was the one who taught my mum how to make mooncake, bak chang (Chinese dumplings) and a litany of other delicacies. I suppose when you have so many children, being a kitchen ace is a compulsory life skill.

From Chinese to Western to Peranakan cuisine, Auntie Choong is one of those genius cooks who can recreate any dish once she sets her mind to cracking the code.

Mark and Auntie Choong bond over their mutual adventurous culinary spirit

Happily, Auntie Choong passed her adventurous culinary spirit to my childhood friend Mark.

Like everybody else during lockdown, Mark – who settled down in Melbourne years ago – has been cooking up a storm.

So we two old friends found ourselves furiously exchanging photos of our cooking and recipes over whatsapp, just like our mothers used to trade recipes and food.

The diversity and breadth of his repertoire was astonishing. His house turned into a virtual international restaurant as he whipped up bun rieu, osso bucco on polenta, oxtail ragu, ants climbing a tree, lamb kofta, as well as dishes that reminded him of Malaysia, such as bak chang, serimuka and kuih talam. Many of them were complicated stuff that I, a neophyte cook, would never dare attempt (not yet, anyway).

Mark’s seri muka

Then one day, Mark made something that looked uncharacteristically simple.

Me: “What’s that?”

Mark: “Shallot prawns. Mum used to make it for us all the time. One of the best home style prawn dishes ever. So simple too.”

Me: “Really? Never heard of such a dish. Is it your mum’s invention?”

Mark: “Not sure. No real back story except we all grew up eating it and loving it. I don’t know anyone else who cooks this dish outside the family. It’s like Nonna Choong’s recipe LOL.”

The hairs on my back stood up. Shallot prawns was a potentially first-in-the-world, 100% original recipe?

“Mark!” I pleaded. “Could you please please please ask Auntie if she would allow me to publish it on my website?”

After a nerve-racking few days, Mark came back and told me Auntie Choong had given permission to share her recipe. Yay!

When he whatsapped the recipe to me, I did a double take.

Only five lines of instructions? And only three ingredients?

More to convince myself that something so simple could be as nice as Mark claimed, I tried out the recipe that very night.

And at the first bite … wow!!

The smokiness of mildly charred crispy shallots, the umami from the soy sauce and the sweetness of the prawns made a mind-blowing combination.

Subtle yet intense at the same time, the dish was soooo good with steaming white rice. I understood instantly why it’s a Choong family favourite.

And now, with Auntie’s permission, I am happy to share the only known such recipe of shallot prawns, one that originated from the Choong family in Taman Merdeka, Ipoh.

Mark and I go back a long way

So, this whole episode got me thinking that COVID19 hasn’t been that bad after all. The pandemic got us to flex our creativity. It brought together two old friends to bond over their mutual love for food. And perhaps, more meaningfully, it inspired us to share precious stories that helped us appreciate our mothers anew.

I’ll toast to that.

Watch how to make shallot prawns

Shallot Prawns

Alexandra Wong
Smoky, crispy fried shallots, umami soy sauce and the sweetness of fresh prawns make this 3-ingredient recipe an instant winner.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2

Equipment

  • wok

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g small to medium prawns, deshelled and deveined (Recipe Notes 1)
  • 4-5 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp light soya sauce (See Recipe Notes 2)
  • Oil for frying (Recipe Notes 3)

Instructions
 

  • Heat up 3tbs of oil in the wok. Add sliced shallots and fry until golden and crispy. Set fried shallots aside. Reserve oil in the wok.
  • Add prawns to reserved oil in wok and stir fry for 1-2 minutes on each side until almost fully cooked.
  • Add fried shallots and soy sauce.
  • Stir roughly to mix. Dish up and serve with hot white rice.

Notes

Notes:
  1. This is one prawn dish that works well without shells. You want the prawn meat to absorb as much of the shallot oil and soya sauce flavours as possible. It’s also one of those rare prawn dishes where smaller prawns work better because the smaller surface area means more contact with the flavouring agents. If you don't have small prawns, just slice your big prawns into half.
  2. Any light soya sauce will do but if you can, use the First Draw Soy Sauce from Mu Artisan. Described as "100% first extraction of soy sauce, coming from the brewing urns after 9 months fermentation", the intensity from the full body taste, rich aroma, and punch of sweetness really takes the dish up to another level.  
  3. As there are very few ingredients, you want their natural flavours to shine through, so use a neutral oil such as corn, peanut, canola or rice bran. Olive or coconut oil would be too overpowering. 
  4. The key is generous amount of shallots, getting the shallots to an ideal level of doneness. 
  5. You can pre-marinate prawns with some salt.
  6. For added aroma, you can add a few drops of sesame oil at the end, though personally I prefer the dish without.
Keyword prawns, seafood

For more delicious prawn recipes, try my creamy pepper prawns!

Thank you periuk.my for featuring this as a genius recipe.

Post Views: 1,806
Chinese, Other Home Cooks, Seafood, Side dish Tags:Chinese cooking, prawns

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Who’s Ipohbunny, lah?

Welcome!

I’m Alexandra Wong, a self-taught Malaysian home cook on a mission to simplify and healthify recipes using affordable quality ingredients. I am a writer by profession, mostly known for my feelgood stories about people, travel and food.

ipohbunny

My first Ig live, Omg! My first Ig live, Omg!
When I met Paige at @hinmarket, her booth stopped When I met Paige at @hinmarket, her booth stopped me in my tracks immediately.Who knew cement could be turned into such beautiful and functional art pieces? If you're still there, PLEASE do yourself a favour and mosey over to her booth (near the entrance) and get a piece of her instant classics.

The market closes at 5pm, so hurry up!!
Alternatively, you can get in touch with her after the event @wanjiarts
...

I am so excited about this first live interview video I did, thanks to encouragement by the inspiring @lohjiyuan 

I had to really level up to make this video. I only found out after I left that I was too close to the phone and as a result, her voice was too soft. I had to figure out how to increase her volume, which was really hard because we were both talking fast. Then I figured, hey, why not I slowwwww down the speed and then I can split the clips and increase her section ...you will know if you use video editing tools. I was racing against time too because I wanted this to be up before the bazaar closes. 

There were a bunch of other things I had to learn, and I'm glad I did. Here's a toast to more upskilling!

I'll be posting this also on my other account @heroesofmalaysia So if you'd like to see other awesome people doing awesome things in Malaysia, do follow me there too :)

#hinmarket #wanjiarts #concreteart #handmadegifts #giftideas #cement #diycrafts #hinbusdepot #popup #popupstore #popupshop
So. The Star article is finally out, that big thin So. The Star article is finally out, that big thing that I was both excited and nervous about and honestly was worried would cause me sleepless nights but I slept like a baby last night - rather snored like a train, according to my husband. Hearing that makes me happy these days haha!

I'd like to highlight some lines from the article: 

“It’s real and it’s not something that you call tell yourself to snap out of, so never say this to someone who is going through it." THIS. PLEASE DO NOT EVER SAY THIS.

“I did a test at a clinic for the stress hormone cortisol and discovered that my levels were over the roof! I was diagnosed and put on a bunch of medications ..." Clarification: high cortisol levels do not indicate that you have mental health conditions.  It did tell me under I was under a lot of stress and motivated me to finally seek psychiatric help.

"I still talk to my therapist because he is my safe space." Getting a therapist was one of the best decisions I made and he is, indeed, my lifesaver, especially when I face a potentially stressful situation. Thank you JC, who first sparked the idea of talking to a therapist because it helped him a lot. Hugs J!

"The most important pillar in her mental health journey was her husband whose unflagging support was crucial. “One day, I giggled at a joke he cracked and he almost cried tears of joy because I had gone so long without smiling." I love you so much, darling, and I'm glad we're growing together through this journey. And a huge thanks too to my in laws who offered me a safe haven during that critical first week when I was like a zombie. 

Lastly, I'd like to thank all of you who have been with me on this journey since I opened up a month ago. There are ups and downs and it's all part of progress and growth, and it will just make us stronger.

Lastly, thank you @Ming_Teoh for doing such a beautiful job with this sensitively and compassionately written article. I hope it helps as many people as possible.

#mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalwellbeing #wellbeing @thestaronline #mentalhealthadvocate
You don't have to be an expert in mental health to You don't have to be an expert in mental health to support friends struggling with theirs. Compassion and empathy can go a long way. 

Yesterday, the @thestaronline published an article about mental health based on an interview I did with @Ming_Teoh a few weeks ago. 

One of the stories is about a beautiful relationship that was destroyed because one of the friends lacked empathy. Happily, the other friendship was brought to a new level because one of them demonstrated empathy, kindness and compassion. Love you, Von (even though you don't have IG).

It all started when Ming saw my mental toolkit a few weeks ago and asked me if I'd be willing to talk about my experiences. 

I said yes without hesitation. I'd just come out of hell and I was going to do whatever it takes to spare other people from the pain, even if it means talking openly about my personal struggles. 

Ming and I spoke so long and so much that she told me she would be writing TWO not one articles from it! OMG!

A few days later, I started getting cold feet. I started wondering ... could I be anonymous? How would she write it? What would people think of me?

I wanted to call her but before I could take action, Ming texted me. "Your articles will be out next week."

So soon?!

I immediately rang her up.  Ming was very kind, telling me that she had done her best to leave out the parts that were sensitive, and from what she described to me in detail, without showing me the actual text of course, I felt reassured that she would do a good job.

The first of the two articles were published yesterday, "How mental health and friends affect each other". It was well written with compassion and clear intention to spread awareness without sensationalising. 

This article is only available online (link in bio), so I decided to get creative. We're living in the age of new media, so why not convert it into an IG carousel using @canva? 

The main article will be published today and focusses on my mental health toolkit. It will be in the print version as well. Can't wait to get a copy!!!

#mentalhealth @thestaronline #mentalhealthawareness #friendship #kindness #empathy #mentalhealthadvocate
Not often does one get to meet the original person Not often does one get to meet the original person who inspired them to pursue their passion but  today I did.... I met @andrewmatthews.author in the flesh!!! 

For some reason I cannot fathom and which I can only thank the divine powers for, Andrew is in Penang to launch his new book, Bouncing Back. And it was held just minutes away from my home, so come hail or high water, I made sure I was there.

He blew my expectations out of the water. His "speech" involved him giving a life affirming motivational talk WHILE drawing his iconic cartoons on the fly on the easel to illustrate his points. Holy moly. Everybody's jaw was on the floor.

The crowd was rapturous, as was I, except maybe I had one extra reason to be over the moon.

You see, years ago, I read Folllow Your Heart and was utterly charmed by his storytelling style. They had humour, so much heart and they were real stories of real people who overcame adversity and great obstacles to bounce back. Healing stories.

Looking back, I can see now that those are the same qualities that I unconsciously weave into my stories esp for my Star column. 

So - despite feeling damn thick skinned, I just had to give him a copy of my own book, Made in Malaysa: Hometown Heroes and Hidden Gems - the book he inspired. 

Thank you Andrew for making time to be here and a huge round of appreciation to @psdcpenang for organising this event. You have no wonder how much this event meant to me!

#andrewmatthews #bouncingback #meetandgreet #psdcpenang
Aaargh, again breaking my rule of not reviewing a Aaargh, again breaking my rule of not reviewing a place after just one visit because...

Just look at this place, only open since May, in a quieter section of the Kong Heng neighbourhood.

The wooden charm!

The gorgeous greenery! 

All the French vibes!

And the most exquisite chocolate lava cake hubs and I have eaten in our lives, it's good it makes me want to cry.

The food took a while to arrive and we can understand why.

The pastry was baked to perfection and the lava, utterly decadent and made from very high quality chocolate.

J'adore 😍😍😍

@cestsibonipoh 

#ipohcafe #ipohcafehopping #ipohdessert #chocolatelavacake #ipoholdtown #cestsibon #dessertipoh
This. Makes so feel so tickled and tearful and jo This.

Makes so feel so tickled and tearful and joyful at the same time.

I walked out of the room with my mat to see Dad doing his exercise. A wave of emotion came over me, relief and joy that he continues including movement in his life despite his long struggle with osteoarthritis ( and pls don't give tips here tq as its been a LONGGGG saga).

Then I became aware of more memories.

The tshirt was given by a loved one just before my meltdown in KL in April. He's been a rock for me al these months, from photo bombing me with cute photos of his family outings, to bringing me my favourite (and bloody expensive) brownies all the way to Penang from KL on a work trip.

The Pilates mat is one of three we own. Yes, three. When I realised how important Pilates had become to my wellbeing, I wanted to have a spare in Ipoh house so I can be active here too.

As I followed my coach's @refine.me.nt moves on my little phone, I thought, hey this is a precious moment.

So I paused the video, ran into the room and called  out hubby. "Dear, please come out and video me and my dad. Quick."
Journalling. "Just pour all your emotions and tho Journalling.

"Just pour all your emotions and thoughts into your journal. Don't filter them. Whatever negative thoughts you have, just pour it out and release them on paper."

Although every doctor, therapist and professional online and in real life that I met recommended this, it didn't work for me. 

I tried it for a week or so and realised it wasn't working.

Something to do with the fact that I'm a writer, maybe, and I already tend to overanalyse and overthink? 

In fact, by recapping what happened, I ended up reliving my trauma and felt even worse.

Then, I had an idea. I could still journal - but in a different way.

I recorded lessons from every day and experience. 

.. and it worked!

Every individual is different, so there is no one-solution-fits-all. 

You have to experiment and find out what works for YOU. 

Good luck, and positive vibes to you today. 

#mentalhealth #wellbeing #journalling #mentalwellbeing
Any talk about Nasi Melayu in Penang will surely b Any talk about Nasi Melayu in Penang will surely be incomplete without mentioning this institution in Tmn Tun Sardon called Restaurant Minah.

When I first came here over 20 years ago as a student, it looked very different. Very simple furniture. No air con (ok still no aircon). What I remember most of course was the delicious and huge variety of food, from all kinds of masak lemak dishes (my weakness) to their legendary kerabu.

When we came back here again last year after moving back to Penang, I had to do a double take. Wah! Look at all those plants and greenery! The lacquered hardwood (and expensive) furniture. The decor can rival any hipster cafe in Georgetown, wei!

Most importantly, the food is as good as I remember it. I discovered they do a killer lamb shank (only available on certain days, don't ask me which one just gotta try your luck) and a slew of other delicious items such as a tiny long skinny fried salted fish.

Today, we were served by a young man who happened to be the cicit (great-grandson) of the original founder. Minah Restaurant was set up in 1957, holy moly! I didn't know that it's the grand daddy of all nasi campur and probably one of the original ones still standing tall.

Wish I had a bit more time to talk to the young man but the crowds are ever streaming in.

Keep going strong, Minah. May you prosper into your 5th, 6th, 7th generation and onwards!

#RestoranMinah #MinahRestaurant #Penangfood #foodreels #Penangfood #Penanginstitution #nasimelayu #curries #kerabu #masaklemak #ulam #nasicampur #heritagefood #Penangheritage #eatwithipohbunny #igers #Malaysianfoodbloggers
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