Deep Fried Prawn with Prawn Oil Tartar Sauce

If you want a chef to list his must haves in the kitchen, oil will be right there at the top. Chef Spencer Watts makes fish and shellfish dishes with intense flavor pops by using different kinds of oil.

Serves: 2-3 as an Appetizer

Difficulty: difficult

Ingredients

Fried Prawn:

  • 1 lb (450 g) Large prawns, cleaned and shelled (reserving shells)
  • ½ cup Flour
  • 4 Tbsp Corn starch
  • 2 Tbsp Powdered ginger
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Thyme leaves (for garnish)
  • 2 litres vegetable or peanut oil (for frying)

Prawn oil:

  • 2 cups Canola oil
  • 1 medium Shallot chopped
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 3 Tbsp  Dried Chilli
  • 2 sprigs Thyme
  • 3 oz Prawn shells
  • Salt
  • 2 Tbsp Paprika

Mayonnaise:

  • 1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) Dijon mustard
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 Egg yolks
  • Salt and pepper
  • 4 Tbsp Lemon juice
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) Capers
  • 1 cup Prawn oil

Method

For the Fried Prawn:

  1. Prepare prawns – remove shells except for the tails and reserve.
  2. Combine flour, corn starch, and powdered ginger in a bowl for dry dredge. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Coat prawns in dredge and gently lay in 350˚F (180˚C) oil, for about a minute, until golden. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess moisture. Sprinkle with salt.
  4. Transfer prawns to a serving plate and drizzle mayonnaise over top. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

For the Prawn oil:

  1. In a sauce pot combine all ingredients, let steep for 30 min on low heat.
  2. Strain oil from saucepan into a jar. Place in a bowl of ice water and set aside until completely cool.

For the mayonnaise:

  1. Combine mustard, garlic, egg yolks, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a food processor and blitz. Pour in chilled prawn oil a little at a time, and continue blitzing. Toss in capers and pulse for just a second