How to make Indonesian sambal prawns with coconut and cashews

You only need a handful of kitchen staples to create this spectacular dish with warmth and salty sweetness, says Prudence Wade

Make this dish vegan by swapping out prawns for tofu or tempeh (Louise Hagger/PA)

In this Indonesian-inspired recipe, you need only a handful of kitchen staples to create a spectacular dish bursting with warmth and salty sweetness,” says Lara Lee.

“Chillies and garlic form the sambal base, fried in oil until the chilli begins to caramelise and wrinkle. Taking a cue from the Indonesian vegetable dish sambal goreng buncis udang (fried sambal with beans and prawns), the green beans come to life, blistering in the pan and bathing in the rich, intensely flavoured sauce.”

Sambal prawns with coconut and cashews

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

25g desiccated coconut

Flavourless cooking oil (such as sunflower or grapeseed) or coconut oil

20 medium raw prawns, peeled, tails on, defrosted if frozen

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed, or 2 tsp garlic paste

4 long red chillies, deseeded and finely diced

200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths diagonally

1 tbsp kecap manis

½ tsp coconut sugar or brown sugar

Large pinch of fine sea salt

60g roasted salted cashews

Method:

1. Toast the coconut in a wok or large frying pan over a medium heat for about two minutes, shaking the pan frequently, until golden. Transfer the coconut to a plate.

2. Wipe out the pan and heat one tablespoon of oil. Add the prawns in a single layer and cook for one to two minutes each side, or until they are just cooked through. Remove and set aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

3. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok or pan, still over a medium heat. Add the garlic and chillies and cook, stirring continuously, for three to four minutes, until the chillies have softened and are starting to wrinkle.

4. Add the green beans along with one tablespoon of water, the kecap manis, sugar and salt. Cook for another three minutes or so, stirring regularly, until the green beans are just cooked through with a crunchy bite.

5. Stir in most of the toasted coconut and cashews, reserving a little of each for garnish, and return the prawns to the pan. Toss everything together. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with the remaining coconut and cashews.

Recipe from ‘A Splash Of Soy: Everyday Food From Asia’ by Lara Lee (published by Bloomsbury Publishing, £22;photography by Louise Hagger).