Beer battered prawns in a sweet and sour sauce recipe

Who needs fish and chips when you can have Ching-He Huang’s saucy battered prawn dish?

Ching: "This makes for an indulgent dish. It can be served as an appetiser or as a main. Juicy tiger prawns are coated in a beer batter, deep-fried until golden and then laced in a fruity sweet and sour sauce.
For vegetarians, you can substitute the prawns with any vegetables in season, such as baby corn, asparagus, mushrooms and tofu. For a main dish, serve with Jasmine rice or serve carb-free with some gem lettuce."

Serves 2 as a main or 4 to share

Ingredients

Oil for deep-frying
15 (200g approx.) shelled deveined tiger prawns, tail on
½ red pepper, deseeded and diced into 1cm squares
2 spring onions, sliced into 4cm pieces
For the batter:
50ml beer, such as Tsingtao beer
8 tablespoons corn flour
1 free-range egg yolk
Pinch of sea salt and ground white pepper

For the sweet and sour sauce

1 tablespoon grated ginger
100ml vegetable stock
50ml beer, such as Tsingtao beer
1 tablespoon clear rice vinegar
2 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 small tin of pineapple chunks (or fresh)
2 tablespoons pineapple juice from the tin

Method

For the batter: add the beer, corn flour and egg to a bowl and mix together to make a batter. Season with salt and ground white pepper.
For the sweet and sour sauce: put all the sauce ingredients into a jug, mix well. Heat a small wok over high heat and add the sauce to the wok. Cook until the sweet and sour sauce is thick and sticky, keep on a very low heat and toss through the diced red pepper and spring onions.
Heat the oil in a wok set over a high heat to 180°C (to test the oil, drop in a small cube of bread and if it turns golden brown in 15 seconds you know it is ready).
Dip each prawn into the beer batter mixture and gently drop into the oil. Fry for two minutes until golden. Remove the prawns with a slotted spoon and drain any excess oil on absorbent kitchen paper.
Add the prawns to the sauce and toss together in the small wok. Garnish with some finely sliced spring onions and serve immediately with some cooked Jasmine rice or gem lettuce.