FOODlog #88: Penang Assam Prawns

My Mum got some tiger prawns the other day. I think in other parts of the world it's also called jumbo shrimp. Normally when she buys these kind of plump prawns, we are in for a real treat coz first of all we don't usually eat prawns this big, and secondly she'll be cooking something that we really really love to eat but rarely eat.

This time she cooked her famous Penang Assam Prawns! As you can see in the picture below, unlike most 'Assam Prawns' which is usually made with a curry or chili gravy of some sort, this one doesn't have chili, isn't spicy, and from the color, it's dark brown in color. It is still has a sour note to the dish as 'assam' also known as tamarind is used.

Compared to those 'Assam' curry type of prawns, this one is much easier to prepare as you only need a few ingredients which are the prawns, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and tamarind pulp.

First you'll need to marinade the prawns for about 10-15 minutes with some salt.

Then to prepare tamarind pulp, soak it in some hot water for a couple of minutes. It is then added without the seeds to the pan/wok with the prawns as well as soy sauce which will give it the saltiness and umami to the dish and the dark soy sauce which will give it a sweet and caramel like flavor to the dish.

After cooking for a couple of minutes, just add some salt to taste and you're done with the dish.

We also had another dish which was some baby bok choy which were simply stir-fried with some garlic and seasoned with oyster sauce, salt, and white pepper.

We ate all this with white rice which is the perfect pairing for those delicious savory, sweet, and sour, 'Assam Prawns'.