Prawn, Mushroom & Vegetable Wrap
More than a month ago, I contributed a Chinese New Year recipe to one of the UK food magazines, Delicious. Prawn, mushroom & vegetable wrap is something that has been my favourite since young.
My mom makes it on the first day of Chinese New Year without fail. Though my recipe is slightly different from hers as she usually uses dried cuttlefish to lift the flavour of this dish and she doesn’t put mushroom. I have opted to use prawns and mushrooms as I am both prawn and mushroom lover. 🙂 Another reason of using prawn especially for a Chinese New Year dish is because it symbolises happiness.
The main ingredient in this dish is yam bean, also known as jicama. Jicama is a root vegetable that looks like radish but a lot bigger! The skin is brown and usually is peeled before cooking or eating. The flesh is white, wet and crunchy – a texture that I really love and I think it’s great to eat raw too! It is slightly sweet, a little nutty.
It can easily be purchased at the Chinese supermarket. I have found a substitute that has almost similar texture as jicama, which is Jerusalem artichoke, which I think is great for this dish too if you can’t get jicama. Though, this dish is usually cooked during Chinese New Year, but I personally think it’s great for just every other day. It is light to be served as a starter – wrap in crunchy lettuce leaves with some sesame seeds, fried shallots and toasted peanuts make it very delectable!
Prawn, Mushroom & Vegetable Wrap
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Yield:
4 persons
Ingredients:
For the Prawn, Mushroom & Vegetable Wrap:
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
180g raw prawns, shelled and deveined
3 Chinese mushrooms, soaked and sliced
220g carrots, peeled and cut into 6-7cm matchsticks
300g yam bean or Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and cut into 6-7cm matchsticks
50g green beans, thinly sliced
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp light soya sauce
½ tbsp sweet soya sauce
1 tsp Chinese rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
a dash of ground white pepper
16-20 round lettuce leaves
Garnishing:
30g unsalted toasted peanuts, coarsely ground
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp fried shallots (optional)
2 spring onions, chopped
Method:
1. In a wok over medium-high heat, put the sunflower oil, add the garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant but not brown. Then, add the prawns, stir and cook for 2 minutes until they start to turn pink.
2. Add the mushrooms, cook for 1 minute. Then, add the carrots and yam bean. Toss and stir to combine, cook for 2-3 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
3. Meanwhile, add the oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sweet soya sauce, Chinese rice wine, sesame oil and a dash of ground white pepper to a bowl with 2 tbsp of water. Mix well and pour into the wok.
4. Stir to combine and bring it the boil for a few seconds before turning the heat to medium-low and put the lid on. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. About 5 minutes into the cooking time, add the green beans, stir to combine. Transfer to a serving plate.
5. To serve, arrange the garnishes and condiment in small dishes and put along side with the lettuce leaves and the cooked filling. Take a lettuce leaves, put about 2 tbsp of the filling in the middle. Garnish with peanuts, sesame seeds, fried shallots and spring onions, wrap it up. Dip in sweet chilli sauce, if liked.
