(Eight 3-oz. cakes)
These prawn cakes are perfect served as an appetizer or a first course. The flavor is so good, no sauce is necessary. It ia a little overkill for the delicate flavour of spot prawns but
3 lbs. BC spot prawns
1½ T. Hunan red chile sauce (available in Asian section of supermarkets)
4 eggs
2 T. chopped parsley
2 tsp. lime juice
4 T. ranch dressing
1¾ cup panko bread crumbs
1 T. butter
Steps: Put 2 quarts of water into a 4-quart pot, add 2 T. salt, and bring to boil. Add the prawns and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pot from heat, drain the contents in a colander; set aside the prawns to cool. Remove the tails; discard the body. Peel the tails and remove the black vein. (Cleaned shrimp should yield about 1 pound). Coarsely chop the shrimp meat and set aside.
Put the chile sauce, eggs, parsley, lime juice and ranch dressing into a medium mixing bowl; mix well using a wire whisk. Add the shrimp meat, then panko. Mix well. Let the shrimp mixture rest for ½ hour before forming the shrimp cakes. To form the cakes, divide the mixture into eight equal balls, press each into a flattened cake; set aside on a large plate.
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the prawn cakes to the pan (do not crowd the pan, do in batches). Cooking each cake 3 minutes, then turn and cook it 3 minutes more. The cakes will be golden brown when done. Serve immediately.
