Fancy something special? Why not try grilled bok choy and prawns. Served on a bed of quinoa, we added chili, lime and delicious sesame oil to bring all the flavours together. With some fancy plating, you can make a really special night of this. If you choose to skip the quinoa, this will be great on a bed of cauliflower-rice, seasoned with garlic and parsley (or coriander) as below.
Ingredients
- 2 large bok choy, halved lengthways
- 4 tsp sesame oil
- 90g uncooked mixed seed quinoa
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 170g uncooked king prawns, shelled
- salt
- small handful parsley or coriander, finely chopped
- freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ red chili, seeds removed and sliced
- 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Method
- Bring a wide-bottomed pan of salted water to the boil. Place the four bok choy halves into the pan, side by side, cooking until tender – but still firm enough to retain their shape. Remove with tongs and place onto a tray lined with kitchen paper, cut-side down to drain.
- Heat one teaspoon sesame oil in a griddle pan, using a silicon pastry brush to ensure the pan is evenly coated. Grill the bok choy, cut side down until clear grill marks are visible. Remove and set aside to keep warm.
- In the meantime, bring 300ml water to the boil and add the mixed seeds quinoa, cooking over a moderate heat until all the water has evaporated. At the same time, in a separate pan, heat the second teaspoon sesame oil and lightly fry the garlic until softened and partially caramelised. Once the quinoa has cooked, stir the cooked garlic and any pan oils into the quinoa and set aside to keep warm.
- Heat the third teaspoon sesame oil (in the same pan used to cook the garlic) and fry the prawns until cooked through – this doesn’t take long, maybe 3-4 minutes. Season with salt.
- To serve, stir the finely chopped parsley (or coriander) into the warm quinoa and divide between two plates. Arrange the bok choy on the plates and top with the cooked prawns. Generously squeeze the lime juice over the prawns and garnish with the sliced chilies and toasted sesame seeds.
- A final drizzle of the fourth teaspoon sesame oil over the whole dish and some additional salt seasoning (if needed) will finish the dish.