Prawn and peanut pan-fried udon

“This is the type of food that I really enjoy cooking and eating: slippery udon noodles with a lovely coconut cream and peanut sauce, topped off with fried chilli and onion. Traditional Japanese cuisine doesn’t often use garlic, but I’ve added some here as I think it goes really well with the prawns and chillies.” Ainsley Harriott, Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food

Credit: Ainsley Harriott's Street Food

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 300 g dried udon noodles (or 500 g fresh)
• vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 white onion or 4 French shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 large red chilli, thinly sliced
• 1 long green chilli, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 300 g large cooked, peeled prawns
• 200 g beansprouts
• 1 handful of coriander leaves
• lemon or lime wedges, to serve

Peanut sauce

• 200 g salted roasted peanuts
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 2.5 cm piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 200 ml coconut cream
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp hot chilli sauce or a pinch of chilli flakes

Instructions

If using dried udon noodles, drop them into a large saucepan of boiling water. Once the water returns to the boil, add 250 ml (1 cup) cold water. When the water returns to the boil again, add another cup of cold water. Repeat this process 2-3 times or until the noodles are tender but still have a little bite. If using fresh udon noodles, cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes or until tender. Once the noodles are cooked, drain well, refresh under cold running water and set aside.

To make the peanut sauce, place the peanuts, garlic and ginger in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients.

Add enough vegetable oil to a wok to reach a depth of 1 cm. Heat over high heat. When the oil is very hot, add the onion and chilli and cook for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on paper towel and set aside.

Pour most of the oil out of the wok, leaving just a thin coating, then add the sesame oil. Add the prawns and toss for 30 seconds, then add the noodles and the peanut sauce and toss to combine well. Add 200-300 ml water to make a thick, glossy sauce, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until everything is piping hot. Stir in the beansprouts and coriander, then scatter with the crisp onion and chilli mixture. Serve with lemon or lime wedges to squeeze over.

Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food starts Thursday 6 August 2015 at 8.30pm on SBS and finishes 1 October 2015. Visit the Ainsley Harriott’s Street Food program page to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes and read our interview with Ainsley.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.