Cereal Butter Prawns (II)

Cereal butter prawns is a popular “zi char” dish in Singapore and Malaysia. Prawns are deep-fried, then tossed in a sandy cereal mix flavoured with butter, milk powder, curry leaves, and chillies. The flavours are strong and bold. There’s a spicy kick. Both cereal and prawns are very crisp and aromatic.

Tips for making cereal butter prawns:

1) Don’t use oat, ever. Raw oat is thick and chewy, right? Does it crisp up after it’s fried in butter? No, it doesn’t. It just turns into a soggy mess. When you see recipes that use oat, run!

2) What you should use is Nestum cereal, which is actually flakes of baked flour with a milky fragrance. Nestum comes out of the bag (or tin) crisp, and it can absorb some moisture without going soft. Hence, curry leaves fried with Nestum cereal are dry and crunchy. Likewise, deep-fried prawns that have a bit of moisture would crisp up nicely but don’t dry out.

3) Be careful when you’re frying the cereal. It burns easily, so use low heat. The wok should be warm, not hot.

4) Don’t use small prawns because they overcook easily. Big ones require some skill to get them evenly done. Medium size is the easiest.

5) To deep-fry medium-sized prawns, use the maximum heat possible on your stove, in vegetable oil heated to just smoking. Fry just once, not twice.

6) Go easy on the bird’s eye chilli. Don’t use too much or it would overwhelm the other flavours in the dish.

7) Watch my video.

Cereal Butter Prawns

Prawns are deep-fried, then tossed with a cereal mix that’s crispy, spicy and incredibly aromatic. The aroma comes from Nestum cereal, curry leaves, milk powder and butter.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Video

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Malaysia, Singapore

Servings 2

Calories 377 kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ¾ cup Nestum cereal original flavour
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 1½ tbsp milk powder
• 8 medium size prawns 300 g – trim, devein, wash, dry thoroughly
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ egg beaten
• 1½ tbsp plain flour
• corn oil for deep-frying
• 30 g unsalted butter
• 6-10 sprigs curry leaves rinse, dry with paper towels, discard stalks
• 1 bird’s eye chilli thinly sliced

Instructions

 

• Thoroughly stir cereal, salt, sugar and milk powder. Set aside.
  ¾ cup Nestum cereal, ½ tsp salt, 1½ tsp sugar, 1½ tbsp milk powder
  
• 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.
  8 medium size prawns, 1 tsp salt, ½ egg, 1½ tbsp plain flour, corn oil for deep-frying
• Heat butter till bubbling and lightly brown. Add curry leaves and chilli. Fry over medium heat till fragrant.
  30 g unsalted butter, 1 bird’s eye chilli, 6-10 sprigs curry leaves
  
• 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.