Marinated Herbal Drunken Prawns (花雕当归醉虾)

erinna Chng
Feb 18
1 min read

This dish is a must try! This dish is so nice that on the same day I first tried this dish, I immediately asked for recipe from my friend’s mum and went home to cook on the same day!

I must share this recipe! The prawns are cooked and marinated in a bowl of herbal brine made with Hua Diao Wine, wolfberries, Dang Gui (angelica roots), rock sugar and some fish sauce.

It’s so simple yet the taste is beyond simplicity. The sweetness of the succulent fresh prawn that soaked up the aromatic herbal sauce from the overnight marination. Together with the fragrance of Hua Diao Wine.. omg.. it’s just heavenly.

Ignore the table manners! Just use your hand, grab the prawn, suck up all the juice from the prawn before you start peeling off the shells.

You will need to plan in advance as you need to marinate the cooked prawns in chilled herbal brine. Marination of the prawns take at least 6 hours, best overnight. Example, I need to serve this dish on Sunday, preparation starts on Fri or Sat morning. This dish is meant to serve chill. Alternatively, omit the 600 ml of water. Replace it with 600g of ice after removing the brine from the heat. This will instant chill the brine and you can cook the prawns and add in immediately without waiting for the brine to chill.

Add the very hot boiled prawn into the chilled brine immediately when the prawns are cooked. The contrast in the temperature allows the prawns to absorb the brine better.

Note on the sauce:

Replace it with 600g of ice after removing the brine from the heat. This will instant chill the brine and you can cook the prawns and add in immediately without waiting for the brine to chill.

Notes

Prepare the Herbal Brine (2 days in advance - need to chill the brine)
n a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the herbal brine and bring to boil over medium heat
Once boil, transfer the brine to a container
Cover and chill overnight in the fridge or until cold
*refer to note to skip the chilling step for the brine.
Boil the Prawns
boil 1 litre of water in a saucepan over high
Add in prawns, salt and lemon juice and bring it to boil; about 3 minutes (do not overcook the prawns)
Drain off the water and transfer the prawns into the cold herbal brine
Cover and chill the prawns with herbal brine in the chiller
Marinate overnight or at least 6 hours for the prawns to fully absorb the brine.
Serve chill