Tiger prawn toban with chilli butter

Name: Tiger prawn toban with chilli butter
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 2 as a starter
Cuisine: Japanese recipes
Ingredients: 6cm piece leek (white part only), very finely sliced lengthways; 4 spring onions, very thinly sliced diagonally; 50ml olive oil; 200g sustainable raw tiger prawns, de-veined (butterflied) and rinsed under cold water; 6 shiso leaves, finely sliced (optional – see Know-how); Crusty bread to serve; For the chilli butter; 125g unsalted butter, softened; 75g crushed garlic (about 1 bulb); 225g jar ají amarillo paste (see Know-how); 1 tbsp sea salt flakes; 35ml fresh lemon juice; 90ml ponzu (see Know-how)

By: Ross ShonHan

Published: 16 Apr 19
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

This tiger prawn toban is brimming with punchy Japanese flavours of shiso, ponzu and a spicy chilli paste. Recipe creator Ross Shonhan says:

”With its Japanese-Peruvian flavours, this dish is from the new branch of my restaurant Flesh & Buns, which specialises in Nikkei cuisine. That’s the cooking of the Japanese diaspora who’ve lived in South America since the 19th century. Peru has a long coastline, so seafood is abundant. A toban is the earthenware pot that’s traditionally used to cook and serve the dish, but you’ll be fine with a heavy-based pan that has a lid.”

Serves 2 as a starter
Hands-on time 20 min

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Ingredients

6cm piece leek (white part only), very finely sliced lengthways
4 spring onions, very thinly sliced diagonally
50ml olive oil
200g sustainable raw tiger prawns, de-veined (butterflied) and rinsed under cold water
6 shiso leaves, finely sliced (optional – see Know-how)
Crusty bread to serve

For the chilli butter

125g unsalted butter, softened
75g crushed garlic (about 1 bulb)
225g jar ají amarillo paste (see Know-how)
1 tbsp sea salt flakes
35ml fresh lemon juice
90ml ponzu (see Know-how)

Method

Whizz the chilli butter ingredients in a food processor until smooth – it’s okay if the mixture splits but don’t let it overheat. (Or mix in a pestle and mortar.) Cover, then chill.
Put the leek and spring onions in a sieve over a bowl, soak in cold water for 10 minutes (see tips), then drain well.
Meanwhile heat a toban (see introduction) or heavy-based lidded pan, then pour in the oil. Add the prawns and fry for 3 minutes, turning once, until almost cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
Add 100g of the chilli butter (see food team’s tip) to the pan and heat until it sizzles. Return the prawns to the pan, then cook for a minute more until cooked through, basting with the buttery juices. Sprinkle with the shiso, if using, and the drained leeks and spring onions, then serve with crusty bread.

Recipe from March 2019 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 404kcals
Fat: 30.4g (9.4g saturated)
Protein: 19.5g
Carbohydrates: 12.1g (9.7g sugars)
Fibre: 2.1g
Salt: 2.9g

delicious. tips

The leftover chilli butter will keep for up to 3 days, covered in the fridge, or in the freezer in a food bag for up to 3 months. Use with grilled meats.

This dish works with other fish, such as scallops, or even mushrooms. Soaking the leek and spring onions washes away the strong allium taste and gives them a crisp texture.
Ají amarillo paste is a fruity, spicy chilli paste made from Peruvian yellow chillies. Buy at realperustore.co.uk or make your own (see delicious. Kitchen).

Shiso leaves have a fresh, clean herbal flavour. Buy at finefoodspecialist.co.uk.

Ponzu is a Japanese citrus sauce. Buy online from finefoodspecialist.co.uk or from Waitrose.

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