A great benefit of living in South Korea is the unlimited access to seafood. The fish market, with its pungent smells emanating through the block, is extremely close to my apartment. On the way home from school, I can pick up any shellfish my little heart desires.

One of my favorite Seocheon shellfish is prawns. They’re always fresh and big, easy to cook, and always come out nice and juicy.

This past week, I made a Spicy Chili Garlic Prawns dish that was light on the spice, and more strong in flavor.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of fresh prawns
• 1 tsp of chili garlic sauce
• teaspoon of chopped garlic
• chopped scallions
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of brown sugar
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 2 tsp of olive oil
• pinch of black pepper

Directions:

1. Clean prawns and cut off antennas
2. Drain water completely and place prawns in a mixing bowl
3. Mix in the chili garlic sauce, chopped garlic, scallions, salt, brown sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil
4. Let it marinate for an hour (I didn’t have time and had to cook it immediately)
5. Stir fry in a non-stick pan (you don’t want the sugar burning on your pan) until the color turns. Sprinkle in some black pepper. Make sure the prawns are cooked, but not for too long. Overcooked prawns aren’t as juicy.

Voila! Flavorful prawns with a slight kick.

Prawns in marinade

Prawns are starting to cook nicely with a slight burn from the sugar.

Gotta have my rice!