MANILA, Philippines — For Canadian-born and raised Filipino chef Jeff Claudio, when you’ve got a really good and fresh batch of prawns, you do not waste it by doing complicated things to it. You just grill it to bring out its natural flavors and then give it a nice and simple sauce to enhance its freshness.
This is exactly what he does with his Grilled Sugpo with Mentaiko Butter Sauce. For huge, fresh and sweet prawns, he whips up a creamy sauce that incorporates Mentaiko, or fish roe (commonly used in Japanese cooking), to make the prawns even more exciting.
Trained by his cousin, Chef Jessie Sincioco, in the kitchen of her own restaurant, Chef Jessie Rockwell Club, Chef Jeff went abroad afterwards to search for his destiny.
He ended up traveling and working in some of the best restaurants in the world, including Noma, a two Michelin-star restaurant in Denmark owned by celebrated chef Rene Redzepi, who popularized the concept of foraging in the culinary world. Chef Jeff also worked for another global celebrity chef, Thomas Keller, at Per Se restaurant in New York.
Grilled Sugpo with Mentaiko Butter Sauce
Ingredients:
120 grams Kombu Dashi*
20 grams fresh cream
150 grams unsalted butter, cold and diced
25 grams Mentaiko*
5 grams Yuzu juice
Sea salt to taste
120 grams Sugpo (prawns), sliced through the back to butterfly, deveined
10 grams chopped chives
Procedure:
1. Put Kombu Dashi (*Dashi is the stock made from Kombu, which is dried kelp or seaweed; with Kombu being easily available in Japanese grocery stores) in a heavy-bottomed saucepot. Boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until reduced in half.
2. Add fresh cream, and slowly incorporate in the cold butter.
3. Once butter and cream emulsify, whisk in the Mentaiko.
4. Season with the juice of Yuzu (*Japanese citrus fruit, which is like an orange) and salt to taste. Set aside.
5. Grill the butterflied prawns for 2 minutes per side.
6. Plate the grilled prawns and drizzle or spoon Mentaiko butter sauce over the prawns. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve.
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