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Written by Shirley T
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Saturday, 07 November 2009 09:52 |
Biologically there is a little distinction between shrimp and prawn. The gill structure for shrimp is lamellar but branching in prawns. Having said that, both shrimp and prawn are similar in appearance and most of times, they are used interchangeably in commercial and culinary.
To me, prawn is usually larger than shrimp but both receive the same treatment on the wok!
Today, I am going to share with you my favorite Tamarind Shrimps or 'Nyonya Assam Heh'. 'Assam' is a Malay word which means 'tamarind' whilst 'Heh' is a Hokkien (Chinese) dialect for 'shrimp' or 'prawn'. The combination of Malay and Hokkien as a phrase usually belongs to 'Peranakan' or 'Baba Nyonya' vocabulary. It is called Nyonya Assam Heh for obvious reason. Kitchen is the place for traditional nyonyas!
This is my first attempt of frying them myself since nobody else is going to cook this 'Assam Heh' for me in Austin! Back in my hometown Penang, I love my late grandmother's Tamarind Shrimps very much. We somehow believe she possessed a secret recipe for Tamarind Shrimps because every single shrimp she cooked was impressive and toothsome! Uncle Vincent also loves this dish very much. Whenever he was in town, this Assam Heh was a must served for dinning. Gone were those good old days. Now, it is time for me to document this recipe so that I could cook for Uncle Vincent when he is visiting us!
Features and functions
Found to be high in dietary fiber, tamarind pulps may help to enhance body digestive system. Besides, it is also rich with natural vitamin C, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and iron.
Exploring a new recipe is fun, let's start my experiment!
Ingredients
1/2 pound (18 pieces extra large) shrimps - preferably of white soft shell-on
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
Marinade
7-8 pod dried tamarind
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sweet dark soy sauce (I use ABC brand)
Method
1. Crack tamarind pods and discard the shell.
2. Place tamarind seeds and pulps into a large bowl. Pour in warm water. Using hand, press the pulps and seeds to produce tamarind extract. Allow them to immerse in water.
3. Add sugar, salt and dark soy sauce. Stir and mix well.
4. Grab the thawed shrimps and immerse them into the marinade. Set aside for 2 hours.
5. Get a wok and heat up cooking oil.
6. Gradually place in the shrimps. Pour in all the marinade but discard the tamarind's veins and seeds.
7. Stir-fried in medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until all the water in the marinade evaporated.
8. Serve with rice.
My Significant Other is never a fan of shrimp but he finished almost three-fourth of the tamarind shrimps served. The tangy flavor from tamarind plus the mixture of sweet and savory made a perfect marinade to go with these shrimps! Fabulous!
This recipe is adapted from Little Corner of Mine.
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Home Kitchen Recipe | Nyonya Tamarind Shrimps (Prawns) - Assam Heh
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