Prawns in Sweet Soy Sauce 豉油皇煎蝦 is a very popular Cantonese dish. Sweetened soy sauce is commonly used in Cantonese cuisine for seafood dishes, clay pot rice, steamed rice flour rolls and fried noodles. “Si Yau Wong” (豉油皇) is how you say it in Cantonese and it means “soy sauce king”. "Soy sauce king" is a flavour combination of light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar. It's a very tasty way to add lots of flavour without having a runny sauce.
You can usually find this dish in most Chinese seafood restaurants and they would leave the shell on the prawns.. I, personally, don’t enjoy sucking off the sauce and getting my fingers dirty while peeling off the shell, and then touching my rice bowl and chopsticks, so I like making this dish with no shells. It’s a bit more work in the beginning, but my son and I find it much more enjoyable when we’re actually eating it.
So why do chefs always keep the shell on prawns when they cook them? I've always wondered why. It turns out that there is a very practical reason for it. The shell protects the meat from losing its water content and also adds flavour to the meat. If you take the shell off fresh prawns before cooking, they will likely shrink to half their size. I bought a pound of fresh spot prawns, thinking that it’d be enough for my son and I. After taking off the shell and frying them, it looked like a little appetizer portion!
Then I thought, why is it that when I remove the shell of frozen prawns, the size hardly changes after frying? The answer is STPP or sodium tripolyphosphate. It turns out that most frozen prawns or shrimp has STPP added to it so the meat can stay firm and retain water content resulting in virtually no shrinkage when cooked. STPP is a GRAS (generally regarded as safe) additive so there's no need for alarm. However, I still try to get fresh prawns when I can.
In my recipe for Prawns in Sweet Soy Sauce 豉油皇煎蝦, I show you how to fry prawns in sweet soy sauce for both shelled and unshelled prawns. You can also use frozen prawns. Just remember that fresh prawns without the shell will shrink by around half the size. So to make a reasonably sized plate of this, you’ll need 2 pounds of fresh prawns with shell on.
If you like the sauce, you can use it for any kind of meat, seafood, tofu or vegetables. This sauce is so delicious that you wouldn’t have guessed it was so easy!
Looking for another dish to go with your meal? Try my recipe for Silky Minced Pork with Steamed Egg Pudding 豬肉蒸滑水蛋.
Prawns in Sweet Soy Sauce 豉油皇煎蝦
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Fresh prawns (or 1 lb if you intend to keep the shell on or if you use frozen prawns)
- 1 large shallot (approx. 60g)
- 2-4 cloves garlic , minced (approx. 30g)
- 2 stalks green onions , chopped. Separate the white parts and the green parts
- 1-2 Thai chili (optional), sliced
- 2 tbsp Corn starch
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 3 tbsp Oil
Instructions
Instructions for cooking fresh prawns with shell off:
- Rinse prawns with water
- Prepare a large pot of water and bring to a boil (approx. 4 litres of water)
Using around 4 liters of boiling water per pound of prawns will allow the water to retain enough heat to cook the prawns enough - Boil the 1 pound of prawns for 10-12 seconds and remove and immediately rinse with cold water or submerse in an ice bath
The prawns should change to orange colour and curl up 
- Wait for the water to boil again before doing the same for the remaining prawns
- Once the prawns have cooled, you can remove the head. You will find the hepatopancreas, aka orange goo or “brains” which can be saved (pour out excess fluid) and added to the soy sauce mixture later. You may also choose to discard it
….but it tastes sooo good! - Remove the rest of the shell and devein the prawn by cutting a slit down its backside and pull out the vein.
I save the shells to make broth for future use - Pour out excess water from the prawn meat, pat with kitchen towel and coat with the 2 tbsp of cornstarch. Spread them out on a plate so that they don’t stick together
- Combine 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, the optional hepatopancreas and 2 tsp sugar in a bowl; mix and set aside
- Heat pan at medium high then add 3 tbsp oil. Wait for oil to heat up
- Add shallot, garlic and white part of the green onions to the pan and fry until lightly golden
- Move the shallot mixture to the edges of the pan. Make sure there is some oil in the middle to cook the prawns.
I used a rounded wok so when I moved the shallot mixture to the elevated sides, the oil slides to the bottom of the wok for better oil efficiency - Turn heat up to high and add the prawns then add cooking wine. Use a spatula to flip, stir and mix everything together
Frying at a high temperature will help all the liquid evaporate quicker to prevent creating a braising effect which will cause overcooking - Pour the soy sauce mixture and add the green part of the green onions in, keep flipping and stirring
From the time the prawns go into the pan and out of the pan, the process should be approx. 1 minute - Plate the prawns when prawns turn orange and curl into a circle shape
Instruction for leaving the shell on:
- Rinse prawns with water
- Using kitchen sheers, cut off all appendages
You may cut the heads off or leave them on - Wipe the prawns with towel or kitchen towel
- Devein the prawns by cutting a slit on the back side of the prawn and pull out the vein
- Coat the prawns with 2 tbsp of corn starch and spread them out so they don’t stick together
- Combine 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce and 2 tsp sugar in a bowl and set aside
- Heat pan at medium high then add 3 tbsp oil. Wait for oil to heat up
- Add shallot, garlic and white part of the green onion to the pan and fry until lightly golden
- Move the shallot mixture to the edges of the pan. Make sure there is some oil in the middle to cook the prawns
I used a wok so when I moved the shallot mixture to the elevated sides, the oil slides to the bottom of the wok - Turn heat up to high and add the prawns then add cooking wine. Use a spatula to flip, stir and mix everything together
Frying at a high temperature will help all the liquid evaporate quicker to prevent creating a braising effect which will cause overcooking - Pour the soy sauce mixture and add the green part of the green onions in, keep flipping and stirring
- Plate the prawns when prawns turn orange and curl up
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