Honey Pass the Sriracha Prawns!

Does that happen to you? Late evening, my darling dear and I, last minute shopping at Costco just before closing and just before dinner.  All the list items were selected and accounted for and then we passed the fresh seafood display. Half a pound of tiger prawns nearly jumped into our cart, just begging to come home with us.  Honestly, it happened that fast! While I did not overindulge in Costicoian proportions, I did recognize immediately my impulse buying can be dangerous! Tonight I skated by with the basis for an elegant dinner for two and only spent about $5.50.  Very economical, or so I keep telling myself…

With only a half pound of seafood to play with I needed to decide whether to go Italian with noodles or maybe risotto  – not a bad choice. Or completely other worldly and asian stir fry. Having an abundance of fresh skinny asparagus, napa cabbage and green onions on hand, I opted for the stir fry. Dunking the prawns in a quick bath of honey with Sriracha Chili Sauce, and a little slicing and dicing… viola dinner was ready in thirty minutes!  Do you see the surprise ingredient in the photo?

Black Seseme Seeds add crunch to Honey Sriracha Chili Sauced Tiger Prawns

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Honey Sriracha Chili Prawns
Serves 2

Ingredients
½ pound tiger prawns with tail on
Marinade
1 tablespoon Sriracha Chili Sauce
1 teaspoons  Soy Sauce (Light Salt variety)
1 tablespoon Honey
1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons fresh blood orange juice
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Stir fry Vegetables
Peanut or Grapeseed Oil for stir fry
2 cups fresh thin asparagus cut on the diagonal about 2” pieces
2-3 cups Napa Cabbage, chopped in shreds
4 green onions, cut on the diagonal about 2” pieces
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 fresh ripe mango, diced
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds (press onto prawns before frying)

Directions
Clean and peel shell off prawns, de-vein.
Combine marinade ingredients in medium shallow dish, whisk to blend. Add in prawns and stir to coat each one. Let rest for no more than 30  minutes. The acidity of the lime and vinegar will start to “cook” the prawns and they can end up tough tasting. Meanwhile slice and dice your stir fry vegetables and set aside separated on a plate so you can then fry them in batches.

Heat wok over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and heat.
Remove prawns from marinade, drain on paper towel to remove excess liquid. Press sesame seeds on both sides of each prawn.
Stir fry in this order.
1. Prawns until just light pink and opaque. Only a couple of minutes. remove and set aside
2. Add a bit of oil if needed and stir fry asparagus and green onions tossing frequently. Time to cook will depend on how thick your asparagus is.
3. Add 2 tablespoons marinade to wok.
4. Add Napa Cabbage and stif fry until just wilted, lower heat, fork test asparagus for tenderness.
5. Add prawns back in and sprinkle in chopped cilantro and diced mango. Stir fry 2 minutes and serve over rice!

Cooks Note: this is easily increased for more servings, just use the same porportions for the marinade to prawn and add more vegetables and rice.