Singaporean Cereal Prawns
From the name of the recipe, we already know the origin of this dish. Singaporean Cereal Prawns are popular not only in Singapore and Malaysia but also in other neighboring countries. This is a perfect appetizer for a baseball beer night or your go-to meal after a very tiring week. This is quick, easy, and very tasty. The addition of the cereals to your old buttered shrimp recipe gives it a lot of difference.
What is Singaporean Cereal Prawns
To be honest, I have only tried it once and, sadly, not in Singapore but in a local Singaporean restaurant here in our place. It’s different from the usual breaded shrimp you will find, it’s buttery and savory at the same time. The original recipe calls for some authentic ingredients like curry leaves and this specific brand of cereal Nestrum. They say that using other brands will not make it authentic. I guess you are right, but you don’t have to stress yourself out if you want some Singaporean Cereal Prawns at home and don't have the authentic ingredients. Having spent a long time in the kitchen taught me how to improvise and be resourceful with the ingredients I had on hand. So with that, we are going to recreate this dish in the easiest and simplest way possible.
So are you ready? Let’s get choppin'!
How to Make Singaporean Cereal Prawns
1. In a bowl, place your shrimp, egg whites, and cornstarch and mix them all together until the shrimp are coated with the egg mixture.
2. Place neutral oil in a pan over medium heat. Make it deep enough to fry your prawns until golden brown.
3. Fry coated prawns until golden brown but still plump and juicy. Place it on a plate with paper towels to remove excess oil. Repeat the process with the rest of the coated prawns.
4. Meanwhile, mash your cereal in a ziplock bag until it is coarse, and combine it with the milk powder. Set it aside in a small bowl.
5. Make scrambled eggs in a pan with oil over medium heat, stirring constantly to make little bite-sized scrambled eggs.
6. While the eggs are cooking, remove basil from the stem, washed and clean add them into the eggs together with the chopped red chilis. Slowly mix in the cereal and milk mixture.
7. After mixing it for a while, add the butter. This will make the cereal come together.
8. Toss in the shrimp and a little bit of salt and pepper and mix it all together.
9. When done, transfer it to a plate and garnish it with some chopped scallions.
10. Serve and enjoy!
Tools
- The recipe requires some mixing bowls and measuring cups. Alternatively, you can use a digital weighing scale to measure your ingredients, but the catch is that you need to convert everything into grams. But if you are an expert in cooking, you can easily eyeball everything without the need to measure it one by one.
- This is best cooked using a wok or a nonstick pan. By doing this, you can be sure that the cereals will cook evenly without burning and without sticking to the bottom of the pan. Making cooking a breezy one.
Notes
- You can remove the shells and tails of the prawns, however, some like it more intact for a more appetizing look. Others also choose to leave the shells on in in order to keep the shrimp from drying out too much. However, it is still up to you.
- Others prefer using the original cereal Nestrum for a more authentic taste. However, if you find it hard to find this cereal brand in your area, no problem. You can substitute the cereal with any other brand. But keep in mind that it will also affect the final taste and texture of the output and may differ from the classic one.
- Cooking your cereals at the proper temperature and timing is also essential. By doing this, you can prevent eating burned cereals, which leave a bitter aftertaste, which is not very pleasing to the taste.
- You may want to adjust the amount of butter depending on your taste. This will help in binding the cereals and keeping them attached to the prawns. But be careful not to add too much, as this might make it difficult to properly toast the cereals.
- To give the dish a little more kick, we typically use red chili. But if you are having a hard time finding one, you can use red chili pepper flakes instead. This will still give you that extra oomph of spiciness you are looking for.
- The original recipe calls for some curry leaves. Yes, I know this is really hard to find, even in our place. So with that, you can therefore replace it with some basil leaves to get the same aromatic effect.
- If you don’t like to add some milk powder, it is still okay. But milk powder will only add some sweetness and a little creaminess, but you can replace it with some sugar instead.