I first discovered prawns at my brother’s house last year. Apparently it was Lela’s signature dish and she made it very well. We had already had lunch when we got there but we tasted a prawn or two and it was great!

After that I happened to see the pre-prepared pack for this dish in the supermarket and it was called “Cereal Prawns”. The photo they had on the pack was exactly like Lela’s butter prawns, so I bought it and tried to make it one day in Malaysia and it turned out pretty good.

Its a very rich dish and its possible to make it with carbs or no carbs depending on which diet you’re on. If you look on the internet, there are several ways to make it. I made it today after consulting my niece Ninie, currently in Miri, Sarawak. I saw her making it during my last trip home but couldn’t remember where I put the recipe. So I made it based on her text message.

I have to say it turned out fantastic and hubby loved it! The photo I took of the dish I made shook so bad I had to throw it away. This pic is from a blog I found. 🙁

INGREDIENTS

300 gms large prawns (about 20) with shell or without head and shell (I prefer de-headed, de-shelled and de-veined, tail on)

3 – 4 sprigs curry leaves (I used the ones I have dried and preserved, works fine)

3 tsp minced garlic

2 red bird chillies, cut in wedges

5 egg yolks

1 tbsp evaporated milk

250 gms butter

1 tbsp Canola oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the prawns in water and salt and rinse until water is clear. Drain and when all the water is gone, pat dry in kitchen towel.

Beat the egg yolk in a dish.

Heat half of the butter and oil in a heavy wok. When hot, add the prawns and fry briefly until pink.

Remove from wok and let the butter fry a bit on medium heat to lose the water from the prawns. Don’t let it burn. If it looks like there’s too much butter and oil mix in the wok, remove half and put aside for later. Add the egg yolk and moved it around so the egg becomes grainy. Use two utensils to move it around the wok effectively. When golden yellow, removed from wok and set aside.

All the butter will have been absorbed by the egg yolk. Wipe the wok and add the balance of the butter and oil and heat on a medium fire.

Add the minced garlic and fry for a while until fragrant, add the curry leaves. Whichever you’re using whether fresh or dried, fry until they become crispy. Add the cut bird chillies, move everything around, and add salt to taste.

Add the prawns and egg, mix well and heat through. Add the evaporated milk to make the dish “wet”.

Remove from heat and serve hot.