Cantonese Cuisine · FFET10145
Bai Zhuo Xia (Cantonese blanched prawns)
Cantonese blanched prawns: fresh prawns scalded briefly in water and served in the shell with a soy dip.
A white porcelain plate holds 8–10 curled, head-on, shell-on blanched prawns, orange-pink with red bands, beside a small dish of soy sauce with minced garlic and chili rings, with chopsticks laid diagonally across the dish.
The regional cooking of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, prized for live, fresh ingredients and light flavours.
Bai zhuo xia is a traditional Guangdong preparation in which fresh prawns are scalded briefly in water and served in the shell with a soy and garlic dip. Bai zhuo means cooking in water without colored seasonings so the prawns stay fresh and sweet. No date or origin for the dish was found; a Chinese cookbook in English published in 1990 already includes it, showing only that it was known by then, without establishing its origin.
What
Bai zhuo xia is a Guangdong dish of fresh prawns cooked briefly in boiling water and served in the shell with a soy-based dip. Diners rinse their fingers in warm lemon tea afterward.1
When
A 1990 Chinese cookbook in English already includes the dish. The method calls for very fresh prawns lifted from boiling water at just the right moment. Its origin date remains unknown; inclusion in a cookbook does not establish its origin.4
Where
Bai zhuo xia belongs to Guangdong's Cantonese cooking and is also a Hong Kong seafood dish. Its city of origin remains unclear.1,2
How
The prawns are cleaned and dropped into boiling water, often with ginger, scallion and wine, for 1 to 2 minutes depending on size, then dipped in a sauce of soy, garlic and chili. Methods vary: boil for 1 minute, then cover off the heat for another 2 to 3 minutes, or boil for 1 to 2 minutes. The exact time depends on the size of the prawns.3,5
Why
Bai zhuo means cooking in water without colored seasonings, which keeps the prawns fresh and sweet.2
Impact and influence
Bai zhuo xia is a Hong Kong seafood dish and a quick appetizer. No intangible heritage or time-honored-brand listing was found.1,3,5
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is my simplified home version. I read two recipes: one by a blogger, and one from an English-language recipe publisher that names no individual author and gives only the publisher's name. I follow the second one for the cooking time, and the amounts are my own choices at home. The prawns are cooked all the way through and never eaten raw.
Ingredients
- Head-on, shell-on prawns, medium size 500 g
- Water, for cooking 2 liters
- Ginger slices 4 slices
- Scallions 2, lightly crushed
- Cooking wine 30 ml
- Garlic, for the dip 2 cloves, minced
- Minced ginger, for the dip 1 teaspoon
- Red chili, for the dip, optional half, minced
- Cilantro, for the dip 1 tablespoon, chopped
- Cooking oil, to pour over the dip 20 ml
- Light soy sauce, for the dip 40 ml
- Sugar, for the dip 1/4 teaspoon
Steps
- Rinse the prawns, snip along the back of the shell, pull out the dark vein, keep the heads and shells on, and drain.
- Put the 2 liters of water, ginger, scallions and wine in a pot, bring it to a boil, and keep it boiling for about 10 minutes to bring out the aroma.
- While that goes on, make the dip. Put the garlic, ginger, chili and cilantro in a heatproof bowl. Heat the 20 ml of oil in a small pan until very hot, take it off the heat and pour it over the bowl, standing back because it spatters. Once it has cooled a little, stir in the soy sauce and sugar.
- With the water at a rolling boil, add the prawns and cook for about 1 minute, then turn off the heat, cover the pot and leave for 2 to 3 more minutes. This timing follows the second recipe; the other gives 1 to 2 minutes of boiling.
- Lift out one big prawn and open it. The shell should be fully red, and the flesh white and opaque all the way through, with no gray, see-through spots. If there are any, put it back in the hot water for another minute.
- Lift the prawns out, drain them and serve hot with the dip, with warm damp towels on the side for wiping fingers. For a firmer bite, dip them into ice water for half a minute.
Tips
- I time the prawns by a big one, not by the clock alone, and open one to check it is cooked through before serving; this is my own habit.
- I make the dip ahead so the prawns can go to the table hot as soon as they are done, which is how I find it easiest to eat.
Allergens: shellfish, soy, wheat