Sluttishly Savoury: Sticky Ginger & Lemongrass Prawns

These prawns aren't called sticky because they're on sticks - that is just one of life's happy little culinary coincidences. NO. The sauce is sticky, thanks to honey and sugar and some quite ferocious boiling near the end of this recipe.

As the name suggests, the key flavours here are ginger and lemongrass, but there's also a citrus kick, and a hefty dose of chilli. They're sweet, sour and spicy all at once, and eating them makes you feel invincible. And if you think I'm being hyperbolic, well, try 'em and see. I'm pretty sure I won't be getting a cold at any point in the next six months, and it's all thanks to these prawns.

Thank you, prawns.

Sticky Ginger & Lemongrass Prawns (makes 4 skewers)
You will need:

• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp lemongrass paste
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp runny honey
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, or equivalent of fresh, chopped red chilli (use less if you're not a hot food person)
• 2 tsp brown sugar (any kind)
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• Juice and pulp of ½ a lemon
• Salt and pepper
• 140g fresh, uncooked king or tiger prawns (shells off or on tails only)
• ½ a red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
• A little olive oil for frying
• Handful of fresh coriander 
• Some sesame seeds to garnish

Make it!

1. Mix the first eleven ingredients (CHECKLIST: garlic, lemongrass, ginger, honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chilli, brown sugar, fish sauce, lemon juice and pulp, salt and pepper) in a medium-sized bowl and add the prawns. Pop in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow the flavours to develop.
2. Get four skewers, and spear the prawns and the red pepper pieces alternately until you've used everything up. Leave the sauce in the bowl, we'll be dealing with that in a moment. 
3. On a very hot griddle pan coated with a little oil, fry your prawn skewers until cooked through. Normally, I'd give uncooked prawns like this two minutes max, but as the pepper on the skewers lifts them slightly away from the surface of the pan, you may need longer - I went for about two or three minutes each side. 
4. Meanwhile, pour the sauce into a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Keep stirring while it reduces down to a sticky, fragrant gloop. Spoon the sauce over the prawn skewers, and garnish with coriander and sesame seeds. 

Tip!

• You don't have to skewer everything if you don't want to, or if you don't hoard skewers like I do. Just fry the prawns and pepper until cooked, while boiling down the sauce on another ring. Throw it over the prawns at the last minute, give everything a final stir, and serve.