PREPARATION FOR CANTONESE STYLE DRY-FRIED PRAWNS (GON JIN HAR LOK) (30 minutes)"]
Use a pair of scissors, snip along the back of the prawn shell. Then use a knife to make a deeper cut to butterfly the prawn with its shell on. Then remove the debris from the prawns with a sharp knife or toothpick. (See video demonstration).
Wash the prawns and pat dry. Marinate with the 3/4 tsp of salt and leave to stand in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Cut the rind of the orange into thin strips.
Squeeze the orange into a bowl and set aside
Combine the oyster sauce, black soya sauce and sugar in a bowl
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[recipe-directions title="COOKING METHOD FOR CANTONESE STYLE DRY-FRIED PRAWNS ( GON JIN HAR LOK ) (30 minutes)"]
Put the oil into the wok and turn heat to high. Add prawns in to deep fry until 70% cooked or till the shell turns slightly whitish in color. Deep fry the prawns in small batches otherwise all the heads will drop out.
When all the prawns are fried, remove and put on a plate.
Pour the oil from the wok leaving about 1 Tbsp.
Add half the orange rind and fry for few seconds. Add the sauce mixture and the orange juice and let it caramalises a little.
Put all the prawns into the wok and stir fry the prawns until they are well coated with the sauce. Be gentle when stir frying lest the prawn heads will drop off.
Continue to cook for about 2-3 mins until the sauce thickens and some burnt bits spotted on the shell of the prawns. Turn off the heat.
Transfer the prawns on a plate and garnish with the remaining orange rind, parsley and spring onion
Serve while it's hot.
Notes
Use Red Leg Prawns or 'Ang Kah Hay' in Hokkien for this dish as the texture of the prawn is very crunchy and firm, and the flesh is very sweet.
Make sure the prawns are very very fresh - you need to lightly press the prawn body to ensure that it feels firm, and make sure that the prawn head and legs are not starting to detach from the body.
Do not overcook the prawns otherwise they will be dried and hard. They should be very crunchy and bouncy if not overcooked.
Be gentle when stirring the prawns otherwise the heads will drop off and it will not good for presentation.