Salt and Pepper Prawns (Crevettes Sel et Poivre)

Quick and easy recipe :

400g raw Prawns (headless but unpeeled, just slit on the back and deveined)

2 Star Anises

2 cloves Garlic

A touch of shredded Ginger

1 Shallot

1 Red Chilli

1 Tbsp Fleur de Sel

1 Tbsp finely crushed Black Pepper

2 Tsp Sugar

3 Tbsps Oil

At least 2 ways of cooking the dish though. One would be to heat up a wok till steamy hot, add in the salt, pepper, sugar, star anises, garlic, shallot and ginger and mix them well. When the salt and pepper start to crackle, add in the prawns (washed and dried) and stir fry for a minute till cooked. Then add in the oil and stir fry some more to mix everything well. By the way, replace the oil with butter and you'll get Black Pepper Prawns.

The other would be to marinate (more like dip) the prawns very quickly in the salt and pepper and also 1-2 Tsps of flour. Heat up wok till hot, add in some oil, the star anises, garlic, shallot, ginger and sugar and stir fry till fragrant (30 seconds). Add in the prawns and stir fry till cooked. Serve hot.

PS : The above was made using Method 2, the prawns were a little limper than usual as I marinated the prawns too long (to save time), but otherwise they turned out great. To make a fusion dish, you can also replace the vegetable oil with butter or olive oil.