Large Prawns with Honey Coffee Sauce
Submitted by betty.riordan
Plump prawns simmered in a bold honey-coffee sauce with bacon, chili, and tomato, served over dill mashed potatoes. An unexpected sweet-savory seafood dish with a deep espresso edge.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
40 minCoffee in a savory sauce sounds odd until you taste what it does. Brewed in alongside honey, the espresso adds a dark, roasty bitterness that deepens everything around it, the way a splash of soy or fish sauce would, while the honey keeps it from turning harsh.
Bacon, garlic, onion, green chili, and tomato build a smoky, spicy-sweet base for plump shrimp that get a quick salt-pepper-sugar marinade first. Add them last and watch closely: the moment they curl into a C, they are done, and a cornstarch slurry pulls the sauce glossy and thick.
It all spoons over rustic dill mashed potatoes, whose creaminess cools the heat. The recipe comes from Debbie Teoh, a Malaccan Nyonya chef and cookbook author.
Chef Tips
- Do not overcook the prawns. Pull them the instant they curl and turn opaque, or they go rubbery.
- Use instant espresso or very strong brewed coffee; weak coffee vanishes under the chili and tomato.
- Add the cornstarch slurry gradually, stopping once the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
- Taste and balance at the end; the sauce wants a back-and-forth of honey sweetness, chili heat, and salt.
Variations
- Swap the prawns for scallops or chunks of firm white fish.
- Leave the bacon out and add a splash of fish sauce to keep it pescatarian.
- Serve over steamed rice instead of mashed potatoes to soak up more sauce.
Ingredients
large peeled, deveined and marinated with 1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper and sugar
Directions
Mashed potatoes:
Boil russet potatoes in a large pot of water until potatoes are tender. Remove from the water, leave to cool slightly before peeling the skin away.
While still warm, mash the potatoes roughly with a fork, tossing butter, salt, pepper and dill to taste. Set aside.
Coffee sauce:
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic & onions, sauté until light browned, adding bacon ham; sauté further about 2 minutes.
Add green chillies, chilly flakes, tomatoes sauté for about 30 seconds.
Add water, chicken stock granules, espresso, sugar to taste and bring to boil.
Add in marinated prawns. Once prawns start to curl up, mix in cornglour solution adjusting seasonings to taste, turn off heat.
Serve with mashed potatoes on the side.
*Note: Debbie Teoh: With more than 10 years experience in the food industry, Debbie is a true-bred Nyonya who hails from Malacca. She is the author of numerous cookbooks, including “UNDERWRAPS” by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine and “Penang Food Guide and Cookbook” and “Nyonya Flavours” by Star Publications. Debbie develops and tests recipes for companies, and contributes to magazines. She is also a Nyonya food consultant for Tourism Malaysia.
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