De-shell and de-vein the prawns. Wash the prawns, drain dry and place in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg white.
Add salt, sugar and egg white to the prawns, and mix well. Cover with cling wrap and leave in the fridge for 15 mins.
B. Make the Wasabi Sauce
Place the wasabi powder into a small bowl, and add in water. Mix well until a paste is formed.
Add in the mayonnaise, condensed milk, and wasabi paste into a big bowl. Mix well until smooth. Cover with a cling wrap and set aside for later use.
C. Batter the Prawns
Just before deep-frying, take out the prawns from the fridge. Add in the sweet potato flour and corn flour, then mix well ensuring every prawn is well and evenly coated with the batter mixture.
COOKING METHOD (Note: Only start these steps when you are ready to serve!)
A. Deep-fry the Prawns
Heat up the wok with the 1 bowl of oil over medium heat. Then add in the prawns one at a time, making sure that the prawns do not stick to one another.
Deep fry for 2-3 minutes until golden, then place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
B. Finishing Touches!
When all the prawns have been fried and while still hot, put the prawns into the bowl of wasabi mixture immediately and toss them well ensuring that every prawn is evenly coated with the wasabi sauce.
Transfer the prawns on a platter and garnish it with black sesame seeds and ebiko. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
Use fresh and big prawns. I like to use Red Leg Prawns (红脚虾 Ang Kar Hay) whenever I make Wasabi Prawns.
Take out the prawns from the freezer at least 1 hour before to defrost if you have pre-frozen your prawns.
HOW TO PREPARE THE PRAWNS?
Be carefully not to get pricked by the sharp poisonous needle-sharp tips at the head and tail of the prawn, which can make your fingers swell. For this reason, I always like to cut off the tips of the prawn immediately before I do anything else to them!
Remove the prawn shells carefully so that the tail remains intact. That is my favourite part of the prawn!
Click here to see how I devein the prawn, if you are not sure how to do it.
HOW TO MAKE PRAWNS MORE CRUNCHY?
Add sugar as one of the marinade ingredients to make the prawns more crunchy.
Refrigerate the prawns for about 20 minutes before frying, as the cold helps to retain the crunchy texture of the prawn.
In many restaurants, sodium bicarbonate is added to the prawns to make them super crunchy. However, adding too much can make the prawns lose its natural sweetness and become tasteless, and even give a bitter chemical taste to the prawn. For this reason, I prefer to use sugar and refrigeration, instead of sodium bicarbonate, to achieve the crunchy texture.
COOKING TIPS
Add sweet potato flour to batter to give a slight chewy texture when the batter is fried.
Coat prawns with sauce immediately after frying, because the heat helps the sauce to be more liquid, so it spreads out more evenly and smoothly.
Use chinese rice wine to help mask the prawn-y smell and enhance the taste too.
Do not re-fry the prawns. Otherwise they will be over-cooked and tough! Fry when you are ready to serve. After all it takes only a few minutes to do it.
ADJUSTMENTS
Adjust the amount of wasabi, condensed milk and mayonnaise (for the creaminess) according to your taste. It is best to test the sauce before adding in the fried prawns.