Make Your Own Prawn Paste

Hotpots are an exquisite traditional Chinese way of eating: friends and family gather around a bubbling pot of broth on a conveyable stove with plates of meat, seafood, and vegetables able to be cooked within the soup. This is communal dining at its best, and the most memorable conversations are made over dunking fresh ingredients into hot, savoury soup followed by dipping them into sauces.

This is often communal dining at its best, and also the most memorable conversations are remodelled by dunking fresh ingredients into hot, savoury soup followed by dipping them into sauces. Taking the planet by storm is Haidilao Hot Pot, China’s hottest chain of restaurants with over 100 outlets in 60 Chinese cities, be loved by Singapore and all Asians. We conceive to up our game in an exceedingly hotpot and make their signature hot pot ingredients to assist you up to your steamboat game.

Angela’s obsession

My sister is definitely easily obsessed with a hobby or a sort of food. While Angela fell dotty with “Hai Di Lao” Prawn Paste initially sight despite her mild allergy to prawns. She still fell loving about eating them and that we have them whenever we are there. But because we are not wealthy and cannot afford to visit Hai Di Lao every week, we decide to recreate it based on what we taste and see.

Ways of Serving

You could serve the prawn paste in a piping bag like what they did in ‘Hai Di Lao’, where you will eat a small thick strip of prawn paste. Or you could put them in this bamboo holder, scooping them out using a spoon, allowing you to taste them like a prawn ball.

Our version’s texture is meatier; we think this is due to the sort of prawns, the way they were chopped, and the quantity of corn starch we used. The best part about cooking at home is that you may experiment with different methods because you don’t have to follow a recipe exactly like in the restaurant. We create our home’s taste in this way just like our grandmother and mother.

Now you don’t need to head down ‘Hai Di Lao’ for this and you could enjoy them at your cosy home. Give this recipe a try and don’t forget to tag us on Instagram as @leplaincanvas and use the #byplaincanvas hashtag. We love seeing your takes on my recipes!

xoxo, Joe

Make Your Own Prawn Paste

Ingredients

• 400g of fresh prawns

• 5 grams of corn starch

• Salt to taste

Methods

• Deshell the prawns and finely mince them, you can use a blender but we prefer the knife and board. Marinate it with a pinch of starch and the corn starch in and knead the mixture until combined well. Pound the paste onto a cutting board repeatedly till you reach a springy consistency.
• Store in fridge till ready to cook. You could serve the prawn paste in a piping bag like what they did in ‘Hai Di Lao’, where you will eat a small thick strip of prawn paste. Or you could put them in this bamboo holder, scooping them out using a spoon, allowing you to taste them like prawn balls.
• The prawn paste balls are ready to be eaten when they float to the surface, about 3 minutes.