The breadth of vegan replacements you can find will never cease to amaze me. Since moving to Melbourne, I’ve had the opportunity to try so many more amazing things that I wasn’t aware were so easily accessible. From different types of cheese, to a huge variety of mock meat, to fish. If you want it, you can find it.
This leads me nicely onto these completely insane vegan sticky chilli prawns. For starters, the prawns look so realistic you’d easily fool any meat eater into thinking they’re real. Seriously, just look at them. Then, they actually taste really good too! Having had prawns in a number of different restaurants since arriving in Melbourne, I knew that it was something I wanted to experiment with.
You can find these vegan prawns in any good Asian shop. They are however fairly expensive, so keep that in mind before embarking on your own prawn related journey. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give them a try. But perhaps wait for a special occasion.
So for my first foray into the world of vegan fish, I wanted to create a sticky, chilli sauce, taking inspiration from Thai food. This is a flavourful mix of soy sauce, fish sauce, fresh chilli, lime, ginger, garlic and parsley. It’s a beautiful combination of fresh, vibrant flavours, that pair fantastically with the prawns. Seriously, you need to give these a go.
It seems like a lot of sauce at the start, but give it time, and it will cook down, leaving you with an incredible sticky sauce. Garnish with more chilli, lime and fresh parsley and you’re onto a winner.
Vegan Sticky Chili Prawns
Ingredients
- 250g frozen vegan prawns
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Half a chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped (reserve some for garnish)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- Handful fresh parsley, chopped (reserve some for garnish)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Step 1 Begin by making the sauce. In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, agave nectar, lime juice, garlic cloves, chilli and ginger. Mix well and set aside
- Step 2 Next, in a large frying pan, heat your olive oil over a medium heat
- Step 3 Once hot, add in your frozen prawns and stir
- Step 4 When the prawns look like they have defrosted slightly (a couple of minutes), add in your sauce. It will seem a lot, but do not worry at this stage
- Step 5 Stir well and continue to fry, stirring frequently
- Step 6 Cook until most of the liquid has disappeared, about 10 minutes
- Step 7 Add in your fresh parsley and stir
- Step 8 Cook until the sauce has all but disappeared and the prawns have a sticky consistency
- Step 9 Put in bowls and garnish with the rest of the parsley, lime zest and fresh chilli
- Step 10 Serve with lime wedge!
