Kam Heong (Golden Fragrance) Prawns

With Chinese New Year around the corner, cook this auspicious and delicious stir-fried Kam Heong Prawns (金香蝦碌) to celebrate the festive season. Kam Heong (金香) is Cantonese dialect and literally translate as “golden fragrance”.

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Kam Heong Prawns

The spice blend includes dried shrimps, curry powder, shallots and garlic. This sauce is popularly used to stir fry clams, crabs and in this case, prawns. The word for prawn sounds like “ha” in Cantonese and some other Chinese dialects, symbolizing laughter (笑 “哈哈”) and happiness in the new year.

Step-by-Step Photos

How to de-vein shell-on prawns
Check out this detailed tutorial on how to de-vein prawns with shells still on.

heibi (dried shrimps)

Soak dried shrimps in small cup of hot water until softened. Pat dry the dried shrimps on kitchen towels and chop finely. Combine soaking water with curry powder to form a paste.

aromatics
Heat cooking oil in wok. Stir fry chopped dried shrimps for 1 minute. Then add the aromatics and stir fry until fragrant.

Golden Fragrant Prawns
Add prawns and curry paste to the wok. Stir fry until prawns turned fully opaque, coating them evenly in the sauce.

Golden Fragrance Prawns Recipe

Kam heong (金香) is Cantonese dialect and literally translate as “golden fragrance”. The aromatic spice blend is popularly used to stir fry crabs, chicken, clams and in this recipe, prawns. The aroma of the curry powder and curry leaves totally stands out in this dish.

Check out the step-by-step pictures on the previous page.

Ingredients:

  • 8 large prawns (shrimps in the US) with shells-on
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimps (虾米/hay bee/heibi) rinsed
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp cooking oil
  • 3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled and minced
  • 2 ginger slices minced
  • 2 chilli padi (bird’s eye chili) sliced thinly; to taste
  • 1/2 tbsp taucheo (soy bean paste/豆酱) slightly pounded
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves

Directions:

  1. Prepare the prawns by using kitchen scissors to trim the legs as well as the sharp edges at the head and tail. Make a small incision on the back and underside of the prawns, locate the black veins with a toothpick and pull it out. Check out this detailed step-by-step tutorial.
  2. Soak dried shrimps in 1/4 cup hot water until softened. Pat dry the dried shrimps on kitchen towels and chop finely. Combine soaking water with curry powder to form a paste.
  3. Heat cooking oil in wok. Stir fry chopped dried shrimps for 1 minute. Then add the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli, taucheo and curry leaves. Stir fry until fragrant.
  4. Add prawns and curry paste to the wok. Stir fry until prawns turned fully opaque, coating them evenly in the sauce.