Thai · Seafood
Prawn stir-fry

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Method
- step 1
- Put the prawns in a bowl. Put the chilli, garlic, coriander stalks (snip these up using scissors first) and caster sugar in a spice grinder or small food processor and whizz together. Add half of the lime juice and the fish sauce, then pour this over the prawns.
- step 2
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok, add the ginger and spring onions and fry for 1 min. Add the red pepper and fry for 1 min, until the pepper starts to soften. Add the water chestnuts and bean sprouts, and toss together until the bean sprouts start to wilt. Add the soy sauce and a really good grind of black pepper, then tip the lot into a serving dish.
- step 3
- Heat the remaining oil in the wok and add the prawns, lifting them out of their juices. Toss for 1-2 mins until they turn pink, add the marinade and swirl the wok quickly, then tip the lot onto the veg. Snip over the coriander leaves and sprinkle on the remaining lime. Serves over noodles with extra lime for squeezing over.
Cooking notes
Scaling works best when you weigh ingredients rather than measure by volume — small differences in packing can compound at higher multipliers.
For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.
When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.
Recipe video
Prawn stir-fry
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OpenCooking time
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OpenIngredient density
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OpenOpen in main scaler
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OpenFrom the journal
Original essays on the small details.
The why behind the technique — original writing on the ingredient and equipment choices that separate a good cook from a frustrated one.
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Cold, softened, melted — three states, three completely different bakes
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Go deeper
Where this recipe sits in the wider tradition.
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