Due to lock down I have been making fake away’s. I love sweet and sour prawns but I like the Cantonese style which has a light coating rather than a thick batter. I did follow a recipe for the sauce but it was too sweet so I had to scrap that one and made my own version. Making your own fried rice doesn’t taste so oily so I won’t be missing the greasiness you get in the Chinese. This is a great quick dinner. As the rice needs to be cold I put it on in the morning then it’s just a quick stir fry.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the sauce

• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 150ml of chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Splash of Worcester sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp corn flour

For the prawns

• 10 raw king prawns
• 6 tbsp corn flour
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 red pepper, cut into chunks
• Small tin of pineapple, cut into chunks
• Bunch of spring onions, sliced diagonally
• Thumb piece of ginger, peeled and cut into thin batons
• Ground nut or vegetable oil for frying

For the rice

• Basmati rice cooked to packet instructions (leave it to cool completely)
• Splash of sesame oil
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. Start by making the sauce, add all of the ingredients into a saucepan bring to the boil then simmer for a few minutes until thickened. Set aside
2. For the prawns, add the corn flour to a plate and beat the egg in a bowl. Add enough oil to a saucepan so you can fry the prawns let the oil get to smoking hot. Dip the prawns it the egg then roll into the corn flour. Add to the oil and fry for a couple of minutes. I did mine in batches so they didn’t stick together. Place on kitchen roll.
3. I cook my rice and stir fry at the same time. Add some oil to both pans add the rice to one add the rest of the prawn ingredients to the other fry for about 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Push the rice to one side of the frying pan add the egg and stir rapidly then mix in the rice. Pour the sauce into the vegetables and give it a stir.
4. To serve, share the rice between 2 serving bowls, add in the sweet and sour then top with the prawns (I do it this way so the coating stays crispy on the prawns).