Prawns are one of my favourites. Thankfully, prawns can be cooked in so many ways, so they don’t get boring. After my Rinjani expedition, I learned to make a special Indonesian sauce that goes very well with vegetables and prawns.

Here I have some angka prawns. They were frozen, but they taste just as good as the “fresh” variety as long as you thaw them slowly. The prawns here all had their shells cut open from the top and deveined.

Other than a dash of sambal and a couple of teaspoons of salt, the ingredients can all be seen here. Sliced tomatoes, lime leaves, gula Melaka. Boil up the mixture, then slowly simmer it down to a thick gravy. You may need to add a little water, but probably not more than a couple of tablespoons full.

Set the sauce aside, then fry some garlic with your prawns. You don’t need to cook them fully. Just make sure they are coated with oil and under high heat, the aroma of the fried shells emerges.

Once you’ve got the aromatic vapours from the prawns rising, pour in the special sauce you’ve prepared and bring everything to a slow boil. Don’t forget that the prawns will release some moisture, so don’t add water. You want to reduce the liquid.

Toss the prawns around to make sure it’s evenly cooked. The final result should be almost dry. Squeeze the juice from one lime to make it even more appetising.

There we have it. Prawns with Indonesian sauce. Do try this at home. Your kids will love it.