Cereal Butter Prawns

Melt some butter and, when it's bubbling nicely, grab a few sprigs of curry leaves and rip off the leaves (with style, of course). Toss 'em in the wok, together with a roughly chopped up cili padi. Stir vigorously, knocking the spatula against the wok now and then. (Not sure what the knocking is for but that's what chefs do. Maybe it's a man thing?)

Butter, curry leaves and cili padi are all ingredients with pretty strong flavours but they complement rather than overwhelm each other. Each stands its ground, yet works with the other two to create a killer combination loved by young and old alike.

The party of three is excellent as it is but why stop there? When the aroma of the curry leaves starts drifting round the kitchen, tip a good half cup of cereal into the sizzling butter (with a flourish please). A few more vigorous stirs and – voila! – there's a pile of golden sand in the wok. I know many people would happily eat this crunchy sandy mixture with a shovel! It's so good it makes even cardboard taste good. (Not that I've tried, of course. I'll stick to prawns fried in the shell, thank you very much.)

I'd always thought cereal prawns were made with oatmeal, so my first stab at the recipe was with some Quaker instant oats that had been sitting on the kitchen counter, unloved and untouched. When the oats were mixed with melted butter, all I got was a disgusting, soggy lump that tasted downright nasty. Into the bin it went, no hesitation at all, and the prawns were eaten sans cereal.

Note to self: (1) '麦片' means cereal flakes; that's why '麦片虾', in English, is cereal prawns; (2) oatmeal is commonly referred to as '麦片' (which isn't wrong since oat is a cereal) but, strictly speaking, it should be '燕麦片'; and (3) I need to improve my Chinese!

The second time round, after a bit of research, I bought a pack of Nestum All Family Cereal. This one, recommended by many cooks, worked like a charm. It was super fragrant and super crispy – a total success! There were smiling faces, finger licking, and nods of approval all round. Yay!

Did you know that Nestum cereal, made by Nestlé, is 67% wheat flour? The rest of the ingredients are rice flour, sugar, corn and various vitamins. So everyone who eats Nestum cereal, thinking it's good for his health because that's what the ads say, is actually eating enriched, baked flour. Except it's sold at almost four times the price of regular raw flour. Nestlé is really smart, eh? No wonder it's the biggest food company in the world.

Would you like some Flour Butter Prawns? Nah, I think I'd go along with Nestlé. Cereal Butter Prawns sounds so much better!

13 August 2012 Update

CEREAL BUTTER PRAWNS (麦片虾) (Recipe for 2-4 persons) Cereal mix ¾ cup Nestum cereal (original flavour) ½ tsp salt 1½ tsp sugar 1½ tbsp milk powder 300 g medium size prawns (8 pieces) trim, devein, wash, and dry thoroughly 1 tsp salt ½ egg, beaten 1½ tbsp plain flour vegetable oil for deep-frying 30 g unsalted butter (2 tbsp) 1 bird's eye chilli, thinly sliced 6-10 sprigs curry leaves rinse and dry with paper towels; discard stalks to yield about 1/8 cup Thoroughly stir ingredients for cereal mix. Set aside. Sprinkle prawns with salt. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with flour and mix till coated. Deep-fry in just smoking oil over maximum heat possible till just cooked. Drain. Heat butter till bubbling and lightly brown. Add curry leaves and chilli. Fry over medium heat till fragrant. Reduce heat to low. Add cereal mix. Stir till lightly golden. Curry leaves should crisp up as excess moisture is absorbed by cereal. Add prawns and toss till well mixed, turning off heat as cereal turns fully golden brown. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Plate and serve.