Risotto that’s so creamy… but doesn’t have any cream in! Every bite of this delicious dish brings pure joy, and sweet, buttery prawns are the icing on top.
4 cups chicken stock
¼ cup Chinese Shaoxing wine, plus ¼ extra
2 whole star anise
1 spring onion (scallion), sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
50g butter, plus 25g extra
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 cup risotto rice (e.g. arborio, carnaroli or vialone nano)
zest of 1 lemon
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra to serve
finely chopped parsley, to serve
sea salt
Garlic prawns:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 raw prawns, peeled and deveined
½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce
First make the broth by placing the chicken stock, ¼ cup of the Chinese Shaoxing wine, star anise, spring onion and fish sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes to infuse the flavours. Keep warm.
Heat the 50g of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook gently for 5 minutes or until softened but not coloured. Add the risotto rice and cook, stirring, for at least 5 minutes. Pour in the ¼ cup of Chinese Shaoxing wine. Stir and allow the wine to mostly evaporate. Now add a ladleful of broth (leave behind the aromatics), stir and allow the broth to mostly evaporate. Continue this process until the rice grains are tender but still a little firm in the centre (you should end up using most of the broth). Stir in the remaining 25g of butter, lemon zest and parmesan. Turn off the heat and allow to rest while you make the garlic prawns.
For the garlic prawns, heat the olive oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 10 seconds before adding the prawns and chilli flakes. Stir-fry until the prawns are almost cooked. Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for another 10 seconds or until the prawns are just cooked through.
Spoon the risotto onto serving plates (loosen with a little extra broth and/or butter if it has thickened too much). Top with prawns and spoon over the garlicky sauce from the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle over a little more parmesan and the parsley. Serve immediately.
