Dublin Bay Prawns - Japanese Style

I am in Dublin today which is a shame as the sun is shining in St Cado (my favorite place in Brittany)and the rain is just about to come down on us here in Howth Head near Dublin! However the seafood market is wonderful and particularly the delicious Dublin Bay prawns which are renowned the world over.

Dublin Bay prawns are large, succulent and wonderful to work with. I particularly enjoy them Golden Style when East meets West as in this Japanese way (Ebi no kimi ni).

What you need:

8 large prawns
8 small potatoes
575ml of Dashi II
45ml of sake
90ml of mirin
60ml of light soy sauce
175g of green beans
45gm corn flour
3 egg yolks
slip of lemon peel

Method

Devein and shell the prawns leaving the tail intact. Slit open the back of the prawns. Score the back of each prawn and press it out hard.

Peel and trim the potatoes and cut into equal size balls. Parboil in lightly salted with a lid until just tender. Drain and refresh in cold water.

Combine the dashi, sake, mirim and soy sauce in a saucepan, add the potatoes and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and set aside so that the potatoes cool in the simmering stock and absorb the flavour.

Trim the beans and cut diagonally into 5cm pieces. Parboil in lightly salted water until just tender. Drain in cold water.

Bring the simmering stock to a simmer. Holding the prepared prawns by the tail, brush each prawn with cornflour to make an even coating.

Separate the egg yokes into a small bowl and beat until frothy. Holding the bowl of simmering stock, dip each prawn (held by the tail) into the egg yolk.

Carefully lay the dipped prawns into the stock and simmer gently uncovered until the egg is set and the tails are bright pink. The egg yolk coating will puff up a bit as the prawns cook. Put the beans into the simmering stock to reheat.

Arrange the prawns against the potatoes in small serving bowls and place the beans in front. Ladle over the simmering stock and garnish with lemon peel (optional)

This is simply wonderful with a pint of Guinness but you may prefer a dry white wine or a hot sake instead!