Fresh Herbs and Prawns

Fresh Herbs and Prawns

I do not have a green finger. I actually manage to kill cactuses. But I can be optimistic and hopeful and I sometimes believe in miracles.

As such, I continue to try growing a few things in my garden. Not in the soil as I'm only renting the house plus nothing really grows around here. The land's not fertile. No, I grow them in pots. Some died as expected while others unexpectedly lived and bloomed. Many were on the verge of death and when they revived, they actually continue to grow and do so better than before. What does it tell you about life?

I tried growing tulips and lilies from bulbs. 1 out of 2 survived. I've killed a few pots of roses, until I realised that I should keep them in the shade half the time outside and prune them now and then. I gave the cactuses another shot. And one of them made my year by growing to 7 times its original size! What have I done (right)? I still do not know. My orchids have done well but I need to learn more about how to look after them. One of them is growing a new plant where the flower should be and I have no idea what to do with it. I'm also trying out grapes and an olive tree.

The Super-growth Cactus

Finally, my herbs are doing nicely : basilic, thym, parsley, mint, laksa leaves, red chillies...So I decided this evening to make us some Fresh Herbs and Prawns.

Basilic, Mint and Parsley

My Chilli Plant (new batch of chillies coming out)

Raw prawns peeled and slit at the back

Garlic (minced)

Red chillies (diced)

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Fresh Herbs (e.g. Coriander, Basilic, Curry Leaves, Laksa Leaves, Parsley, Thym, Mint...)

Cherry Tomatoes (if you so wish. Halved)

Lemon juice

Marinate the prawns at least for an hour with the olive oil, garlic and red chillies. I was often told not to add salt to prawns before cooking as it would drain the liquid from them, but in Chinese cooking, this technique helps to make the flesh firmer when you cook it so it's up to you whether you add salt or not to your prawns at this stage.

When you're ready to cook the dish, heat up the wok or frying pan and dry roast the fresh herbs. Just as they're starting to wilt, add in the prawns followed by its marinade and stir fry for a few minutes till the prawns are cooked. If you haven't added salt and pepper, do it now. If you wish to use cherry tomatoes, add them in now. Squeeze some lemon juice over the prawns before serving.

PS : One could eventually cook herbs like curry, laksa, coriander and thym leaves first and then just before serving stir in the basilic, mint and parsley.