Tomato Chilli Prawns (Chinese New Year)

There are many traditional dishes cooked during the Chinese New Year season. Many Chinese families like to cook prawns/shrimps, as the pronunciation of prawns in Cantonese is “ha” – much like “laughter”, that is associated with the idea of happiness and joy.

So prawns have been a must-have on a traditional Chinese New Year celebration menu.

My mum used to make a very simple and quick dish, stir-fried prawns with tomato sauce or ketchup that I love the most. Based on my mum’s cooking way, I tweaked it a bit by adding an amazing kick to this dish with Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, since my kid has grown up, getting love to have hot foods more and more.

If you have young kids at home, you just skip the chilli sauce, or vice versa, add more if you want it hot to your liking.

Hope all of you a happy New Year!

Tomato Chilli Prawns Recipe

(Printable recipe)
By Christine’s Recipes
Course: Seafood
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 15 medium prawns/shrimps
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• 5 Tbsp diced tomato (fresh or canned)
• salt, to taste

Seasonings:

• 1 Tbsp ketchup
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Sriracha hot chili sauce
• 2 Tbsp raw sugar

Method:

1. Devein the prawns, rinse and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Season with salt.
2. Use a little bowl to mix the seasoning well. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Saute garlic over medium-high heat until fragrant. Toss in the prawns and stir fry till they are half way cooked, because you don’t want to over cook them. Pour in the seasonings. Continue to cook with stirring consistently, until the sugar is completely melted. Add the diced tomato. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 1 minute. When the sauce dries up a bit, dish up. Serve hot.

Notes:

• As this dish is created for Chinese New Year, I deliberately retain the heads and tails of the prawns, resembling the meaning of “wholeness” and “completeness”.
• For convenience, you can peel the prawns with the tail shell left intact if you like. That would help the prawns absorb the sauce up more.