Shrimply irresistible

The dish that pleased empress Dowager Cixi 让慈禧太后胃口大开的酸甜抓炒大虾

These juicy, crispy, sweet and sour prawns were once only served in the imperial household. About a century ago, Beijing's Chunhualou restaurant is said to have smuggled the recipe out of the Forbidden City and began cooking the dish for the general public. Today, we have found the restaurant's modern successor who carries on this tradition. With each plate, waitresses, dressed as Manchu court ladies, not only serve the food but also regale punters with a folk tale on the origin of each dish; these stir-fried prawns apparently once saved lives.

This dish is extremely tasty but also relatively easy to make. All you need are fresh plump prawns, a few common condiments used in Chinese cuisine and the determination to master the art of stir-fry, the essential Chinese cooking technique. Add these ingredients to your shopping list and start your journey cooking some delicious prawns.

When all the delicacies in the world fail you, these stir-fried prawns are the one thing that will bring back a hearty appetite - at least according to the legend of the Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太后). Having been served a jaw-aching 100 different dishes per meal every day, this notorious royal foodie became harder and harder to please, until one day she announced that nothing on the table was to her liking. As capricious as the ruler of the Qing Empire was, it is said that she threatened to behead the entire kitchen staff if they did not come up with something satisfying immediately. The senior chefs were at a loss as to what to do, while a junior cook, who had never had the chance to serve the royal family, stepped up to save the day. The young chef quickly grabbed a handful of prawns, threw them in hot oil and coated them with a special sauce - the whole process taking only a few minutes.

When served, the aroma of vinegar from the dish made the Empress Dowager's mouth water and she instinctively grabbed for her chop sticks. After just one bite of a prawn, she experienced a sweet and sour taste that was just enough to awaken her appetite. A eunuch, who oversaw the cook's swift movements, improvised a name for the dish: Zhua Chao Da Xia (抓炒大虾), literally meaning to grab and stir-fry the prawns.

Legend aside, zhua chao actually represents a special method of stir-frying involving first coating the ingredients with a mixture of starch and eggs (or water), frying for a short period of time and then returning the ingredients to the wok with the sauce. Because the ingredients should already be cooked after frying, you should stir fast to avoid overcooking. Stir-fried prawns, along with pork tenderloin, kidney and fillet, all cooked using the same technique, were listed in the menu of the Manchu-Han Imperial Feast (满汉全席 Mǎn Hàn Quǎn Xí), a lavish feast served by the Emperor to his officials during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

For seafood, look no further than Guangdong province on the south coast. People there have recorded fresh prawns being plump and sweet (鲜者肉肥白而甘 xiān zhě ròu féi bái ér gān) for centuries in their chorography. It should be noted that prawns are commonly referred to as da xia, when it's official name should be dui xia (对虾, literally paired shrimps) due to the fact that they were traditionally dried and sold in pairs.

Prawns are also regarded as a refined ingredient suitable for cultured people. A Qing Dynasty poet recorded in his journal that he often served prawn soup to his guests, which is not only tasty, but good for the mind. (居人往往以享客，且可致远。Jū rén wǎngwǎng yǐ xiǎng kè, qiě kě zhìyuǎn).

Besides soup and stir-fry, there are a number of cooking methods for prawns including the famous qingzheng (清蒸, steam) and hongshao (红烧, stew with brown sauce) in Shangdong cuisine.

Rich in protein, vitamin A, calcium and magnesium, prawns are the perfect choice for replenishing your energy. Consumed as a part of a balanced diet, prawns can lower cholesterol levels and maintain cardiovascular health.

From the TCM perspective, prawns are believed to strengthen people's internal power of yang, whose medical effects include treating psychasthenia, a deficiency of the kidneys, the spleen and stomach.

Courtesy of The World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com

The World of Chinese

Recipe | Stir-fried Prawns 抓炒大虾

Ingredients:

6-8 prawns 大虾 dàxiā

2 tablespoons of cooking wine

料酒 liàojiǚ

2 teaspoons of salt 盐 yán

150g cornstarch 玉米淀粉 yùmǐdiànfěn

50ml water 水 shuǐ

500ml cooking oil 食用油 shí yòngyóu

1g chopped scallion葱 cōng

1g chopped ginger 姜 jiāng

1 teaspoon of soy sauce 酱油 jiàngyǒu

50ml vinegar 醋 cù

50g sugar 糖 táng

25g tomato sauce 番茄酱 fānqiéjiàng

Method:

1. Marinate the prawns with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of salt for 1 to 2 minutes. In another container, mix the corn starch with water. Add the prawns after they have marinated. Heat the oil to 130℃, and add the coated prawns one by one. Be sure to separate them so they don't stick together.

2. Fry the prawns for 2 minutes until they turn golden. Remove the prawns and set aside to drain. Pour out most of the cooking oil until there is roughly 1 tablespoon left.

3. Mix the chopped scallion, ginger, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and tomato sauce together. Stir until even.

4. Heat the remaining oil for a few seconds and add the mixed condiments. Heat for 10 seconds and then add the fried prawns. Continue to heat and stir for 5 seconds until all the prawns are coated evenly with the sauce.

5. Be creative with the presentation and add some color to work up your appetite. Serve hot.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/14/2013 page27)