Typhoon Shelter Fried Prawns

I’m pretty sure this dish is no stranger to many of us, especially if you are an avid Hong Kong traveler like me. Typhoon Shelter Fried Prawns originated from Hong Kong and the original version is made using crabs. After watching a short video clip, which featured one of the founding restaurants for this dish, the open secret in making this iconic dish is deep frying all the ingredients (sauces included) in a large pot of oil and throwing in heaps of minced garlic along the way. Unless you have an outdoor kitchen or your kitchen is equipped with an industrial-sized exhaust fan, it doesn’t make sense for us to replicate this dish at home. But life is all about improvising, right? Since hubby has not tried this dish before and our Hong Kong trip is still a couple of months away, I’ve decided to conjure up a sneak-preview version for him (based on my fond memories of the dish). Since I couldn’t find any fresh crabs, I’ve substituted it with prawns.

Ingredients:

300 g (about 10 – 12 pieces) glass / tiger prawns – peeled and deveined
10 cloves garlic – minced
1 tbsp black bean paste – minced (optional)
2 stalks spring onions – chopped
3 to 4 dried chilli (or as many as you like) – cut into 1 inch length
½ cup panko / Japanese breadcrumbs
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp water
Vegetable oil
Fried garlic chips (garnish – optional)

Marinate for prawns:
½ tsp salt
2 tsp Chinese cooking wine
Dash of pepper
2 – 3 tbsp corn flour

Serves 2 – 3

Recipe source: loosely adapted from Hee Kee Restaurant Hong Kong

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typhoon shelter fried prawns ingredients

The bag of fried garlic chips (first left) was my recent purchase from Taipei, which I used as extra topping towards the end.

I used a food processor to mince the garlic and black bean paste together.

Alternatively, a knife would do the job too. 🙂

Coat prawns with the above marinate (except corn flour) and let them sit for 15 mins.

Drain the prawns and pat dry with kitchen paper towel.

Coat the prawns with corn flour and mix well.

In a large wok, heat 1 cup of oil and deep fry the prawns on high heat for about 2 mins or until cooked.

Heat oil until smoking point.

Drain from oil and set aside.

Pour the oil in a glass bowl or jar to cool. Using the same wok or a large pan, add in 2 tbsp of oil, minced garlic, black bean paste and dried chili.

Stir fry on high heat until fragrant. Add in soy sauce, sugar, spring onions and breadcrumbs.

Done!

Mix until thoroughly combined. Lastly, add in fried prawns and toss them for another 20 seconds. Serve hot.

Full Instructions:

Coat prawns with the above marinate and let them sit for 15 mins. Drain the prawns and pat dry with kitchen paper towel. Coat the prawns with corn flour and mix well. In a large wok, heat 1 cup of oil and deep fry the prawns on high heat for about 2 mins or until cooked. Drain from oil and set aside. Pour the oil in a glass bowl or jar to cool.
Using the same wok or a large pan, add in 2 tbsp of oil, minced garlic, black bean paste and dried chili. Stir fry on high heat until fragrant. Add in soy sauce, sugar, spring onions and breadcrumbs. Mix until thoroughly combined. Lastly, add in fried prawns and toss them for another 20 seconds. Serve hot.