Beer Steamed Prawns with Sweet Soy, Wasabi & Tomato Relish

I’m not sure there is much else in the culinary world that could encapsulate an Aussie summer more than beer and prawns.  So here the two come together brilliantly – the beer giving a subtle sourness to the sweetness of the prawn meat. If you are entertaining its great to make vats of this relish and keep it on hand – it goes as well over a steak as it does with these prawns and it goes down a treat with left over ham on a sandwich with a nice tart cheddar.

Serves 6

Ingredients

750ml beer

1 litre water

1 x 5cm knob ginger, sliced

300g scampi

600g prawns

Relish (about 1 ½ cups)

15 roma tomatoes, blanched, peeled, deseeded, finely chopped

2 onions, peeled, finely chopped

2 tsp wasabi paste (or more to taste)

½ cup sweet soy sauce

¼ cup rice vinegar

To serve

Aioli

Coriander, roughly chopped

Method

To make the relish combine all ingredients + 2tbsp water in a large non reactive saucepan, bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce heat and cook, stirring regularly until soft and a thick consistency is achieved. Add the wasabi to your heat preference and if your tomatoes are not particularly sweet, add a pinch of brown sugar to taste at the end of cooking.

To make the prawns, bring the beer and water to the boil in a large saucepan. Place the ginger, scampi in a steamer basket, place over the saucepan, cover and steam until cooked, about 4 minutes). During the last few minutes of cooking, add the prawns until cooked through.