Aunty Angela’s Portuguese Pineapple Prawn Curry Recipe

Today I will be sharing with you my late Aunty Angela’s Portuguese Pineapple Prawn Curry Recipe. This recipe was given to me, by my cousin Marie.  Friday tends to be meat-free day in my house and I often cook fish pie or egg curry, today I will be sharing a Kristang recipe from my late Aunt which she learnt from the old ladies when she was staying in the Portuguese Settlement in Malacca.  Now, the Baba Nyonya community have their version of cooking this recipe but this is the Portuguese version.

This a great recipe if you love the combination of spicy, sweet and sour flavour in a dish.  Due to lockdown and unavailability of ingredients, I’ve used frozen raw prawns but this dish would be better if you can find fresh prawns or King Prawns.  Also try to use fresh pineapples as you won’t get the sourness from canned pineapples. Finally, if you are wondering, candlenuts/buah keras (buah kemiri) are waxy, cream-colored nuts similar in size and texture to macadamia nuts, which can be used as a substitute, although less-expensive raw almonds or cashews will also do. I get my candlenuts/buah keras from Malaysia whenever I go back to visit my family and freeze them.  I find food connects us and it is wonderful to be able to cook this recipe to remember my late Aunt and her legacy when I am so far away from home. Hope you give this recipe a go and leave a message in the comments if you do.

Here’s the youtube video showing how I made the sweet and sour pineapple prawn curry recipe.

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Here are more recipes for you to try:

Nasi Goreng Telur or Egg and Spam Fried Rice Recipe

Simple Malaysian Egg and Potato Curry Recipe

Malaysian Hakka Mee or Mince Pork Hakka Noodles Recipe

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Aunty Angela's Portuguese Pineapple Prawn Curry Recipe

yeahfoodie Today I will be sharing with you my late Aunty Angela’s Portuguese Pineapple Prawn Curry Recipe. This recipe was given to me, by my cousin Marie.  Friday tends to be… Main Course Aunty Angela’s Portuguese Pineapple Prawn Curry Recipe European Print This

Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 20 mins 20 mins

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Blended into a fine paste in food processor or blender

• 30 pcs dried chillies
• 20 pcs small onions (shallots)
• 4 pips garlic
• 4 whole candlenut (buah keras)
• 2 stalks lemon grass (serai)
• 1 small piece shrimp paste/belacan about the size of a stock cube (you can also use 1 tsp granules)
• 2.5cm fresh turmeric root (kunyit)

 

• 4 tbsp oil
• 300g large prawns (keep the shell but cut off legs & whiskers and devein)
• 1-2 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 pineapple (cut into pieces)
• salt
• sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Add the ingredients in a blender with a little water and process it until fine. Remember to pre-soak the dried chilies in boiling water for 10 minutes to soften them and remove the seeds before adding them into the blender.

2. Add oil to pan and add the paste and cook till oil separates and paste become fragrant. Usually take around 10-15 minutes. Add water or oil if you find the paste catching on the pan or if you want it more watery.

3. Add in the pineapples and stir

4. Add in the prawns and tamarind paste. Then season to taste with salt

5. Serve with hot steaming rice

Notes

Note: I have halved the recipe and used about 5 dried chillies and 2 fresh red chillies as wanted it less spice. I have also added in a small piece of Gula Melaka (or you can use 1/2 tsp sugar) as my pineapples were sour. I've also used about 180g frozen raw prawns which I deveined but the recipe is best with large Alaskan Tiger Prawns. Also add more water if you want more sauce as I have made my gravy thick.