Antiguan Curried King Prawns

Ingredients:

For the king prawns:
300g king prawns, peeled and de-veined (if frozen defrost first)
1 tbsp Antiguan jerk seasoning
juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 red onion, finely chopped
Generous splash of groundnut oil
2 tbsp Jerk Curry Paste
1 red habanero chilli
1 small Sweet Potato, peeled and diced into 1cm chunks
2 small Potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm chunks
½ Red bell Pepper, cubed
½ Green bel Pepper, cubed
¼ tsp of Ground Allspice
200mll of Coconut Cream (or 400ml of Coconut Milk)
100ml of Vegetable Stock
Splash of Worcestershire Sauce
freshly-ground Black Pepper, to taste
80ml of white wine
Juice from 1/2 lime
Fresh coriander, chopped for garnish

Method:

Begin with the king prawns. Prepare them then place in a bowl. In a small bowl, mix together the jerk seasoning, lime juice and garlic. Mix to a smooth paste then add to the prawns. Using your hands, spread the paste evenly over the prawns then transfer to your refrigerator and allow to marinate over night.

Place a wok or deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add a splash of oil. As soon as the oil starts smoking a little add in the onion and stir-fry for 5 minutes (you want them soft and just starting to brown).

Add the sweet potato and potato cubes together with the curry paste, chilli and the allspice and then fry over a medium heat for a further 5 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent the mixture sticking to the pan (you can add a little more oil if the mix dries out too quickly).

Add the white wine whilst the pan is hot and let it sizzle and mostly boil away. Season with a little ground pepper. If there’s no sizzle, you’re stewing the vegetables not frying them, so turn up the heat a little.

When the potato starts to brown, reduce the heat and carefully add the coconut cream, vegetable stock, peppers and thyme. Add a generous splash of Worcestershire sauce, then season with a little freshly-ground black pepper.

Bring the sauce to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and gently simmer for another 20 minutes until the potato pieces are soft when pressed with a fork, stirring occasionally. If the mixture is too wet, remove the lid for a little while. If it is too dry and sticking to the pan, carefully add a little boiling water and stir until you get the right consistency.

Once cooked, you can mash a few of the potato and sweet potato pieces with a fork to add a little more starch and thicken up the sauce if needed.

At this point, if you want to save the sauce for later or freeze some of it, you can do so. Only add the prawns if you’re serving right away.

To finish the curry, add the prawns and their marinade, stirring them carefully so they are coated in the sauce. Simmer gently for a further 5-7 minutes or until the prawns are pink (don’t over-cook the prawns as they’ll become tough and flavourless).

Serve directly from the cooking pot, with a garnish of fresh coriander and accompanied by rotis.