Sambal Prawn Spaghetti

Sambal Prawn Spaghetti

 I have an enduring love affair with Italian food. It has many elements that resonate with Chinese food. Lots of garlic, quick stir frying of ingredients into a tasty sauce, tossing noodles into the said sauce.
We had a guest over for dinner this long weekend. Being mindful it was still within the Chinese New Year (CNY) fortnight, we wanted to serve something Chinese or Asian or Singaporean. But. Hot summer weather does'nt encourage slaving over a hot stove for hours on end.
...what to eat, what to cook.. can't be too spicy.. something "simple"
Looking back at our CNY Reunion dinner menu, sambal prawns was a winner, so decided to serve it as a one dish meal. (Plus salad).
Note:
1. I marinaded the prawns with cornstarch - a tip handed down from my grandma - keeps the prawns nice and "crunchy", prevents them from hardening up when cooked.
2. Cook sauce and pasta at the same time, if possible. Remove pasta from water whilst very "al dente" as it should finish cooking in the sauce.

Sambal

Ingredients: (serves 4 mains size, 6 entree)

• 36 medium prawns, tail on
• 1 500g pack San Remo No 220 Organic Spaghetti (bronzato style)
• 500ml tomato passata
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon Sambal  Chilli with dried shrimp
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, cut into 3-4mm wide strips
• 6 gloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 -2 spring onions, very finely sliced
• 1/4 cup Chinese Shao Hsing Cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt for boiling pasta
• peanut oil for frying prawns - 1/2 cup
• salt, pepper to taste
• thinly sliced red chillies (optional)

Ingredients: (Clockwise from Top Left) Spring onions, tomato mixture, prawns, white part of spring onion, ginger/garlic. Centre - roasted red pepper

Method

• Marinade the prawns with a quarter of the minced garlic, ginger and cornstarch for 20-30min
• Mix the sambal, tomato paste, tomato passata, Worcestershire sauce, sugar in a bowl, set aside
• Bring 4L of salted water to a boil in a large deep pot, cook pasta according to instructions.
• Meanwhile, heat the peanut oil till smoking, in a deep skillet or wok
• Drain the prawns, add to wok and stir fry till half cooked, about 2min. Set aside
• Add remaining ginger and garlic to oil (add more oil if mixture catches) stir fry briefly, do not allow garlic to burn. Deglaze with Shao Hsing wine.
• Add tomato mixture, bring to boil.
• By this time the pasta should be as cooked as you want it to be - just before the ideal "al dente" texture.
• Scoop pasta into sauce, stir well to mix and finish the pasta cooking in the sauce. (about 2minutes). Add salty pasta water as required. This contains starch and helps to thicken the sauce.
• Add the prawns, spring onions, red pepper and cook for another minute, season to taste with additional salt if necessary.
• Serve immediately