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PAZUN SEE-PYAN

Mandalay: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen by MiMi Aye (Bloomsbury Absolute)

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Serves 4 or 6 if part of a sharing menu

I’ve always been obsessed with prawns – little ones, big ones and all the ones in between – but I didn’t realise how magnificent they could be until first tasted this prawn curry in Burma. Somehow, the savoury-sweetness seemed intensified, and I remember licking my plate clean. I discovered that there was a magical substance in the heads of prawns known in Burmese as pazun see (prawn oil) that was responsible for this extraordinary rush of prawny goodness – you can even buy jars of this precious elixir to mix straight into your rice – and I vowed to replicate this wondrous curry back in England as soon as I could.

4 tablespoons groundnut oil or other neutral-tasting oil
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons tomato purée
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon mild chilli powder
1 kg of the largest raw tiger or shells and heads still on
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Heat the oil in a wok or saucepan over a high heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomato purée, paprika, chilli powder and 500ml of water, and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 30–45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions and garlic break down completely, the sauce is reduced and you see a ring of oil appear around the inner edges of the wok (known as see-pyan or ‘the oil returns’).

Meanwhile, take the head off one prawn and inside the head you will see a reddish/yellow blob (known as pazun see or ‘prawn oil’ in Burmese). Carefully scoop the prawn oil out of the prawn head (it's okay if any grey gunk comes with it) and add it to the sauce. Repeat with the rest of the prawn heads, and discard the heads (see Cook's Note).

Next, carefully remove the shells and tails from the prawns and cut a slit down and the salt and leave to marinate for 5 minutes. Heat the sauce over a medium-high heat and stir through the prawn oil that you or until the prawns are pink and cooked through.

Serve with steamed rice.

Cook’s Note
Known as tomalley in crabs and lobsters, pazun see is needed to give this dish its proper, intensely prawny flavour. That’s why it’s essential you use prawns that still have their heads still attached. You can, however, leave the heads on a few prawns for decorative purposes, as pictured.