I like the sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine. I think its the yin and yang concept that manifests itself in the recipes.
Method
1. Marinate about 250 gms of deshelled and deviened prawns (I left the tail on) for about an hour with 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp vinegar a little bit of honey and salt to taste.
2. Cut 1 onion into lengthwise thin strips. Julienne about 1/2 cup of carrot and 1/2 cup of capsicum. Finely chop about 1 tsp of garlic and 1 tsp of ginger. In Chinese cooking most of the ingredients are cut in the same shape. You can also cut all the vegetables into cubes instead of julienne. Cubes takes slightly longer to cook.
3. Take 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add 2 tsp of cornstarch to the prawns. When the oil is hot, saute the prawns till they are pink and start to curl. Dont overcook the prawns as then they become harder.Remove from pan and set aside
4. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the carrots for 2 mins till slightly soft. Remove from pan and set aside
5. In same pan, add 1 tsp oil and saute the onions. When the onions are pink, add the ginger and garlic and saute briefly on medium flame. Add capsicum and carrot and saute till the vegetables look cooked.
6. Mix 2 tsp soya sauce, 2 tsp vinegar, 2 tsp red chilli sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp corn starch and add this to the pan and bring to boil. The mixture will thicken and coat the prawns and the vegetables beautifully.
Serve with rice /noodles.
As I was writing this post, I wondered whether what I bought today was shrimps or a prawns? Googled and found this post. The differences are so subtle that I would rather enjoy my food - anyways whats in a name....