Taste from Afar: Thai Noodles with Cinnamon & Prawns

Recipes

A decade ago, British Chef Nigella Lawson shared a recipe she discovered while vacationing in Thailand. Her personal chef whipped up this savory seafood entree, and she loved it so much, she had him make it for her nearly every night she was there. The ingredients are an unusual but decadent combination, making for a fairly light, yet vibrant meal that you likely won't see in the menus of most Thai restaurants abroad.

Better still, she's got a video to show you how to make it:

Thai Noodles With Cinnamon And Prawns

I have been alive a long time and, at least when it comes to eating, have spent that time wisely and well. So it’s not often that I eat something that tastes so different to anything I’ve come across before. But this is such a dish. A gorgeous and mesmerically talented chef called, so perfectly, Tum, cooked it when I was on holiday in Thailand a few years ago, and I made him cook it again and again, and then finally asked him if I could video his making it, so I could try and recreate it at home. Apart from having to make geographically enforced changes, I have stuck to Tum’s recipe, including the ready-ground pepper and chicken stock concentrate (actually, he used chicken powder). I just had to share this spectacularly unfamiliar but compelling recipe with you. I hope you will be as bowled over by it as I was. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

Nigella.comNigella

• 1 x 15ml tablespoon sunflower oil
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 15 grams fresh ginger (peeled and cut into fine matchsticks)
• 1 star anise
• ½ long or 1 short cinnamon stick (broken into shards)
• 2 - 3 leafy stems at the top of a stick of celery (stems cut into short lengths, leaves roughly chopped)
• 1½ x 15ml tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon oyster sauce
• ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 100 millilitres cold water
• 1 teaspoon veg or seafood stock concentrate (bouillon)
• 1 x 15ml tablespoon ketjap manis (or 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar)
• 10 peeled raw king prawns (thawed if frozen)
• 80 grams glass noodles or rice vermicelli (soaked and drained as per packet instructions)
• 1 fat pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1 fat pinch of ground cloves

1. On a high heat, heat the oil in a large wok. Add the garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and the sliced leafy stems of celery, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
2. Stir in both soy sauces and leave to simmer for 30 seconds, then stir in the oyster sauce and ground pepper.
3. Add the water, followed by the veg or seafood stock concentrate and the ketjap manis (or the mixture of dark soy sauce with soft brown sugar), stir until everything’s well combined and bring to the boil.
4. Now add the king prawns, immersing them in the liquid. Simmer until the prawns are cooked through.
5. Finally, add the drained noodles and stir well — I find a couple of pasta forks, one in each hand, best for this — so that everything is combined, and most of the dark liquid is absorbed. Add the pinches of ground cinnamon and cloves, stir again, and if you’re not serving straight from the wok, decant into a serving bowl, and sprinkle with the reserved chopped celery leaves.

Photo and Recipe Source: Nigella

Syllogi’s ‘Musings’ is a series helping you paint a picture of a destination while traveling from your living room. From relevant books and articles, inspiring movies and tv shows, to songs and even treats and dishes, our goal is to curate a sensory experience that will prepare you for an upcoming trip, reminiscence on adventures past, or simply to envision a place that exists in your bucket list fantasies.