How to Cook Crispy Kai Lan (Airfryer), Sambal Prawns & Butter Prawns

This was one of my favourite broadcasts on Twitch so far – great crowd and fabulous conversation. A troll came and left pretty quickly when the usual insults about my food were so lame I threw some sympathy laughs his way. I should send him a copy of Trolling for Dummies, if ever I get around to writing and publishing it.

If you’ve been meaning to join me online and interact during my livestreams, make sure you hit Follow AND turn notifications ON at www.JackieM.Live. My current schedule is up on the page and I’m looking to add more, perhaps ones that are on-location in other settings.

Crispy Kailan (Chinese Broccoli)

The idea for this dish came from https://icookandibake.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/crunchy-broccoli-leaves.html – it’s adapted here for my Optimum HealthyFry airfryer.

INGREDIENTS:

2 bunches kai lan (leaves and stems separated)
1 Tbsp oil
½ tsp chicken powder OR dash of salt
½ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsps tapioca starch + 1 Tbsp water
½ tsp chicken powder
Dash of fish sauce or soya sauce
2 slices ginger
1 Tbsp oil
¼ cup water

METHOD:

1. Cut kailan leaves into ½ cm widths.
2. Toss with oil, pepper and seasoning.
3. Cook in 2 batches in airfryer at 170C for 5 minutes, pausing to toss every 60 seconds.
4. Remove and spread out to cool. Leaves will continue to crisp up once cooled.
5. Cut kailan stems into 1 ½ cm diagonal slices.
6. Heat oil in wok, saute garlic and ginger until garlic is lightly browned. Add oyster sauce and kailan stems.
7. Add water, chicken powder and fish sauce.
8. Cover and simmer for about 1 minute or until stems are tender.
9. Add tapioca starch mixture to thicken.
10. Remove from heat.

FYI the one time I had this at a restaurant, the crispy kailan leaves were served on top of the stir-fried stems.

Sambal Prawns

INGREDIENTS:

8 large prawns, peeled and deveined, tails intact
2 cups oil
2 Tbsps minced garlic
1 brown onion, minced
1 lemongrass, bruised and tied in knot
¼ cup chilli paste (from dried or fresh chillies)
3-4 Tbsps tamarind concentrate
2 tsps belacan (shrimp paste)
1 cup coconut cream
¼ cup sugar
1 chicken powder
Dash of soya sauce (optional)

METHOD:

1. Heat 4 Tbsps oil and brown garlic, then add onion and fry until a light brown colour.
2. Add all other ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Adjust seasoning as desired.
4. Remove from heat and serve.

(ps. Alright, so this version, also by yours truly, didn’t have coconut cream in it, but that aside, it’s more or less the same recipe.)

Butter and Garlic Prawns

INGREDIENTS:

8 large prawns, peeled & deveined, heads and tails intact
2 Tbsps butter
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup evaporated milk
2 stalks curry leaves
1 tsp chicken powder
1 tsp sugar
1 bird’s eye chilli, sliced (optional)
Dash of pepper

METHOD:

1. Heat butter in saucepan, then add garlic and saute until lightly browned.
2. Add prawns and fry for about 30 seconds, then add all other ingredients.
3. Simmer until prawns are cooked through and the sauce has thickened.
4. Add water and/or evaporated if it dries out too quickly.
5. Adjust seasoning, remove from heat and serve.

(ps. Yeah I know, this wasn’t the one I made in the video since I ate it that same evening. That’s the struggle with my Wednesday livestreams at the moment – it’s too dark by the end of it for me to capture any decent photos. This was the same dish I ate during one of my jaunts to Malaysia.)

The Kai Lan and Nasi Lemak in this live broadcast were cooked using the Optimum HealthyFry and Optimum Induction Pressure-Cook Pro respectively; more about these products can be found at www.prestigehomeappliances.com.au