Serves 4
Ingredients
Spot Prawn Escabeche
20 spot prawn tails, shelled
225g olive oil
150g lime juice
60g shallot, minced
2pc red chili, seeded and minced
Salt
Lemongrass powder
5lb lemongrass, bottoms only, smashed and sliced
500mlcanola oil
100mllemongrass oil
32g tapioca maltodextrin
Crushed peas
1lb fresh peas, blanched
1bch mint, picked
Lemongrass oil
Salt and pepper
To Garnish
50g Valrhona Ivoire chocolate, in the freezer
A few blanched peas
Sprigs of mint
Pea tips
Edible flowers, such as begonia and/or marigold
Lime, juiced
Method
Spot prawn escabeche
To make the escabeche, combine the oil, lime juice, shallot and chili in a bowl.Season the spot prawns and place in a vac-bag with the escabeche liquid.Cook in a water bath set at 45C for 15 minutes.Shock in an ice bath.
Lemongrass powder
Sweat the lemongrass in half the oil over medium heat for 20 minutes.Cover with the rest of the oil and continue to cook at a low temperature with a lid for 2 more hours.Using a hand blender, mulch up the lemongrass in the oil.Transfer to a container, cover with cling film and keep in the fridge overnight.Reheat and strain through a coffee filter.Using a whisk, stir some of the oil into the maltodextrin until a light and flavorful powder forms.
Crushed peas
In a food processor, pulse the blanched peas until they are well mulched but still chunky.Add the mint and season with the lemongrass oil, salt and pepper
To Garnish
Use a ring mold to shape four pucks of crushed peas on four plates.Remove the prawns from the bag and drain on paper towel.Arrange five prawns on each plate in a way that looks like prawns are spilling off of the pea.Dress the blanched peas with some lime juice and salt and sprinkle on each plate.Crush the frozen white chocolate and scatter on the plates.Dust each plate with some lemongrass powder and garnish with the mint, pea tips and flowers.