Recipe for the tastiest pineapple prawn curry from the Agak Agak cookbook
When you hear the term agak agak, you probably don’t immediately think of a dish. Yet this informal term plays a major role in the way Shu Han Lee creates her dishes. In Singaporean Singlish, agak agak means something like “a little bit” or “can you feel it?” and represents cooking based on intuition and experience. In her new book, Agak Agak, Shu Han Lee brings that philosophy to life by creating dishes that don’t require exact measurements, but that you mainly learn by tasting, feeling and smelling.
One of the most iconic dishes that reflects this philosophy perfectly is her prawn curry with pineapple. It is a perfect combination of sweet and sour, with prawns that are sweet and savoury, and pineapple adding the perfect sweet-and-sour balance.
Peranakan cuisine
This dish is a wonderful Peranakan curry that takes your taste buds on a tropical journey, full of fragrant spices, coconut milk and the fresh flavour of lime leaves. Peranakan cuisine combines the fragrant spices and herbs of the Malays with typically Chinese techniques and ingredients.
How to make the prawn curry with pineapple
- Crush all the ingredients for the spice paste finely in a mortar and pestle, or blend in a small blender until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a shallow pan or large frying pan over medium heat.
- Fry the spice paste for about 10 minutes until very fragrant.
- Turn up the heat and stir in the coconut milk, water, salt and brown sugar.
- Once the sauce is bubbling, add the prawns and pineapple to the pan. Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low and simmer for 3–4 minutes until the prawns turn pink and are just cooked. Taste carefully and season with a little extra salt or sugar if necessary.
- Sprinkle with the lime leaf.
Cooking with intuition and experience
What makes this dish so special is the way you let the flavours meld together without sticking strictly to quantities. Just as agak agak means “a little bit” or “it feels right”, it is important to follow your intuition and experience with this curry. The dish may seem simple, but the balance between sweet and sour is what creates the real magic.
So what are you waiting for? Time to make this delicious and refreshing curry and take your taste buds on a tropical adventure!
Agak Agak cookbook
The beautiful Agak Agak is packed with Singaporean recipes from Shu Han Lee’s kitchen – everyday recipes that she makes time and again and loves so much. You’ll find Singaporean hawker favourites, made a little more simply and quickly for home cooking. You’ll discover the lesser-known dishes served only at home, among friends and family. You’ll find new ideas that combine the incredibly fresh ingredients here with the flavours she grew up with. You’ll also find tips, adaptations and tricks for many of the recipes, so you can adjust, vary and make them completely your own.
Title: Agak Agak
The tastiest recipes from Singapore
Author: Shu Han Lee
Price: €32,99
Publisher: Carrera Culinair
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