Steamed Prawns with Silken Tofu

I like my seafood steamed as the process preserves their natural sweetness and catches all their lovely juice in the dish they are cooked in.  Not much to wash up afterwards when you also serve directly from the dish, steaming hot.  For this recipe, morsels of prawn coated in Japanese sake, egg white and cornflour are piled on top of wobbly slices of silken tofu and steamed until they turn opaque, finished with a touch of soy.   

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

• 1 packet silken tofu (300g /10oz)
• 12 medium size prawns (or 200g / 7oz prawn meat)
• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon Japanese cooking sake
• 1 tablespoon cornflour
• a pinch of salt
• a few coriander leaves, for garnishing

Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

METHOD

1. Make the sauce by combining soy sauce and sesame oil in a small dish.
2. Remove heads and shells from prawns.  Make a slit on the back of each prawn to expose and remove the vein.  Cut each prawn into 2-3 sections.  Place in a bowl  
3. Combine prawns with egg white, sake, cornflour and salt.
4. Gently invert tofu from its packet onto a 20cm /8" heatproof dish with sides about 4cm / 1½" high (similar to the one pictured above).  Drain off any water that comes out of the packet by tilting the dish slightly over the sink.  Pat the tofu dry with paper towels.  Cut the tofu lengthwise in half, then crosswise 4 times into 10 equal slices.
5. Arrange the tofu slices to cover the base of the dish, then spoon the prawn mixture over the top.
6. Steam the dish for 6-7 minutes or until the prawns are just cooked and turn opaque in colour.  Pour the sauce over.  Garnish with coriander leaves.  Serve hot directly from the dish.

Setting up a steaming station:

If you don't have a tier steamer pot, you can use a wok, a large saucepan or a frying pan with a lid to set up a steaming station.  Make sure the heatproof dish fits into your pan leaving some space around it for the steam to come through.  You will also need a steamer rack to support the dish inside the pan.  Fill the pan with water to a depth of about 4 cm / 1½", and bring to a boil.  Place the dish with the prepared food on top of the rack, and cover to steam.  Heat may be reduced but water must be kept boiling during the process.  A useful tool to have is a steamer lifter that allows you to safely lift the hot dish out of the pan without scalding your hands.