This is a recipe for Honey Prawns, old-school Chinese restaurant-style. The batter coating is a proven secret weapon I use for Honey Chicken that stays crispy for hours, even after tossing with the honey sauce!
The trick? Ice cold soda water for one. Also, cornflour plus flour. Finally a double-fry, fast becoming the worst-kept cooking secret to less greasy fried foods that stay crispy for hours!
Honey Prawns that stay crispy for hours!
Honey Prawns are a much-loved favourite at suburban Chinese restaurants and takeaway joints across Australia. Plump, snappy prawns are battered and fried until crisp, then tossed in a sweet and sticky honey sauce – those words alone will have anybody drooling!
As irresistible as they are, for me Honey Prawns at most restaurants suffer one glaring defect: they don’t stay crispy for long! Once the honey sauce hits that crispy exterior, it’s an express ride to Soggy Town!
The simplest answer to this problem is of course to gobble fresh Honey Prawns down as soon as they hit the table. I heartily endorse this solution. 😂 But that aside … can we do better?
Yes we can! 🙂 Thanks to a trio of little tricks I employ, these Honey Prawns will stay crisp for not just a few minutes … or even hours …. or overnight … but you can even reheat them the next day to near freshly-cooked, crispy perfection!
Sound too good to be true? Read on and become a believer in the miracle of Stay-Crispy Honey Prawns!
What you need to make Honey Prawns
Here’s what you need to make these Honey Prawns that stay crispy for hours!
1. Prawns and honey sauce
Prawns/shrimp
Fresh raw prawns are best if you can, medium to medium-large size. The ones pictured are 33g whole or 17g peeled, to be exact!
However these days, frozen prawns are actually also pretty good. Get large frozen peeled prawns, thaw them and pat them dry very well. Frozen prawns tend to be quite watery when they defrost which will compromise the crispiness!
Honey Sauce
Honey – The primary flavour here. Yes, this sauce is sweet!
Glucose syrup – This is a very thick, clear syrup that comes in jars, usually found in the baking aisle of supermarkets. This is a little trick for making a thick honey sauce that coats the surface of the crispy coating without soaking in much and making it soggy. Substitute with clear corn syrup – this works just as well.
Chinese cooking wine – A commonly used ingredient in Chinese cooking to add depth of flavour into sauces as well as a little salt. Without it, the honey sauce tastes a bit flat, like it’s missing “something”. Substitute with mirin or if you can’t consume alcohol, low-sodium chicken stock/broth.
Soy sauce – For some flavour and seasoning.
No water added! – Most Honey Prawn sauce recipes include water and cornflour/cornstarch for thickening. Crispy batters and water are not friends! Give the water a miss.
2. Miracle stay-crispy fry batter
And here’s what you need for the miracle stay-crispy fry batter. I’m just going to cover the basics about each ingredient in this section. If you are interested in more about the why, have a read of the Honey Chicken post when I first introduced this fry batter!
COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water – NOT sparkling mineral water which is naturally carbonated. We want something that has man-made bubbles in it because it is fizzier, and the fizz helps with the puffing of the batter. Meanwhile cold liquid is key for an ultra-crispy result. The shock of the cold batter hitting the hot oil = super-crispy batter, virtually immediately.
Cornflour/cornstarch – Wheat flour (ie. plain flour / all-purpose flour) contains gluten which causes crispy batters to soften. Cornflour is gluten-free, so using this type of flour in the batter is key for crispiness. We use mostly cornflour in this batter.
Plain flour / all-purpose flour – So why not just use all cornflour? If you do the batter becomes like a thick glue that’s not workable. Also because cornflour does not brown properly when fried, and stays pale. We want a nice golden colour for Honey Prawns! Thus some wheat flour helps here. We also need some to activate the baking powder to make this crispy coating puffy (baking powder doesn’t work on cornflour).
Baking powder – A key ingredient to give the batter some lift so it’s puffy, rather than a thin coating that’s fully adhered to the prawn like in Sweet & Sour Pork.
How to make Honey Prawns
This recipe utilises a double-coating method for an extra crispy coating. We dusting first with cornflour to seal the prawns, then a batter for crispiness!
1. Preparing the batter
Season prawns by tossing with salt. I used to marinate them in a little soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine for flavour, but have since found that this compromises the crispiness. Salt is all we need – there’s plenty of flavour in the crispy coating and the honey sauce that coats it thickly!
Cornflour/cornstarch dusting – Provides an extra layer to seal in the juiciness of the prawns so it doesn’t soften the crispy coating. A proven method utilised in Honey Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork!
Batter (cold!) – Made simply by mixing the batter ingredients together. A key step for ensuring the cooked batter is ultra-crispy is COLD raw batter. The shock of the cold batter hitting hot oil = crispier prawns. The batter is kept cold by making it just prior to frying, and using fridge-chilled soda water / club soda. For extra insurance, you can also chill the bowl and dry ingredients before mixing in the water – a good tip for beginners or when making Honey Prawns on hot days.
Batter thickness – The above photo shows the thickness of the batter (also see video). It is quite thin which is intentional. Contrary to what I expected, a thinner batter stays crispier for longer!
Dip in batter – Dip the floured prawn in one at a time into the batter, just before cooking.
Let excess batter drip off by holding the prawns for a few seconds before transferring them to the hot oil.
2. Double-fry – the secret for ultra-crispy!
Fast becoming the worst-kept frying secret, a quick double-fry is THE ultimate secret to ultra-crispy and less greasy fried food (more examples: Honey Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, my mother’s Chicken Karaage). It also solves the inherent problems of batch-frying where the first batches cool before the last hot batch is done. Why? Because unlike the first fry of the double-fry, during the second fry you can crowd the pot, meaning the prawns get reheated in one or at most, two quick batches.
Fry #1 (3 minutes) – Fry the prawns for 3 minutes at 160°C/320°F until LIGHT golden. This steps is to cook the batter and prawns. At the end of the 3 minutes, the coating will be pale but crispy, however it will soften as it cools. This is normal and we’ll properly crisp it shortly!
COOL prawns before second fry – Another key tip to make crispiness-that-lasts! I do not know the science behind this, but I have found that second-frying cold prawns is both crispier AND stays crispy for longer than second-frying prawns that are still hot form the first fry.
Fry #2 (3 minutes) – Fry the prawns for 3 minutes at 200°C/390°F or until they are a deep golden brown. Colour is the key indicator here. If the prawns are not golden enough, then the crispy coating will soften faster as it cools. They will still be crispy long enough to coat in sauce, serve and eat. But towards the end of the meal you will find they will not be fully crispy all the way around.
On the other hand, golden brown prawns will stay crispy for HOURS. As in, long after they are cold, they are still super-crunchy. It’s insane!
This is the target golden colour you are aiming for:
And here’s a comparison of the prawns after Fry #1 and Fry #2:
Bonus: Doing the quick Fry #2 just before serving where you can crowd the pot (ie all the prawns are cooked in 2 batches) means the prawns are served piping hot, freshly cooked.
Drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Now it’s time to coat in that wickedly good Honey Sauce!
Honey Sauce – In reality, we will make the Honey Sauce before we do Fry #2. Just plonk ingredients in a pot and simmer to make a fairly thick syrup with minimal water content, so it won’t make our prawns soggy.
Pour the Honey Sauce over the prawns in a bowl.
Toss quickly to coat the prawns in the Honey Sauce. You want to be quick here, not because the prawns will go soggy (they won’t!) but because the honey sauce will thicken as it cools which makes it harder to coat the prawns properly.
Serve! For an authentic Chinese restaurant experience, pile the prawns on a bed of fried rice vermicelli noodles. To make the noodles, you literally just drop a wad of dried rice vermicelli noodles in the hot oil and it will expand into a mass of foam-like crispy noodles within seconds!
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion, if desired. Take to the table and watch them disappear in seconds!
What to serve with Honey Prawns
I find that Honey Prawns are a bit too sweet to have as the only main dish. So typically, I serve with with another savoury and salty side dish, plus fried rice and vegetables or a salad. Here are some suggestions:
Char Siu Pork – Chinese BBQ Pork for the second main. Or try the chicken version!
A stir fry or stir fried noodles. Some favourites: Cashew Chicken, Honey Pepper Beef, Mongolian Lamb, or Chow Mein!
Fried Rice – Classic Chinese restaurant-style. Or try the emergency Baked Fried Rice!
Side salad suggestion – Chinese greens with Oyster Sauce, Ginger Smashed Cucumbers, a fresh Asian Salad or Asian Slaw.
If you put together your own Chinese restaurant banquet, tell me what you make! I love getting menu inspiration from readers! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Honey Prawns – stays crispy for ages!
Ingredients
Prawns
- 300g/ 10oz prawns/shrimp , peeled with tail on (600g/1.2lb whole unpeeled) (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp kosher/cooking salt (halve for table salt)
Dredging:
- 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch
Ultra-crispy fry batter:
- 9 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch (Note 2)
- 6 tbsp flour , plain/all-purpose
- 1/2 tsp baking powder (NOT baking soda)
- 1/2 tsp salt , kosher/cooking (halve for table salt)
- 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp COLD soda water, club soda or seltzer water (NOT sparkling mineral water, Note 3)
Oil, for frying:
- 3 – 4 cups vegetable or canola oil (~4cm / 1.5" depth in a pot)
Honey Sauce (Note 8 on sweetness):
- 1/3 cup (100g) honey
- 1.5 tbsp (25g) glucose OR corn syrup (light) (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (or all-purpose)
- 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (or mirin)
Garnish / serving:
- 25g / 2 oz Vermicelli rice noodles (optional) , a wad of it (not mung bean noodles, it must be rice noodles)
- Sesame seeds, finely sliced green onions
Instructions
Season and dust prawns:
- Salt prawns: Mix prawns with salt. (Don't do this ahead, salt makes prawns sweat = compromise crispy coating!)
- Dust: Place 1/2 cup cornflour/cornstarch in a bowl. Dip prawn in, shake off excess then put on a plate. Repeat with all prawns.
Cold batter and fry #1:
- Chill dry ingredients: Whisk together flour, cornflour/cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Place in fridge while oil heats up. (Helps keep batter cold, cold batter = crispier prawns)
- Heat oil: Fill small pot or large saucepan with 4cm / 1.7" oil. Heat to 160°C/320°F on medium high stove.
- Make cold batter: When the oil is near target temp, add soda water into the dry ingredients. Then do the minimum whisks to just combine (10 or so) – a few lumps ok, better than whisking too much (changes coating texture).
- Batter thickness: Should fully coat prawns easily, not be see-through, but not thick and heavy. See video at 38 seconds for cues. Use extra soda water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve right thickness.
- Dredge: Holding a prawn by the tail, dip into the batter then hold up for a 2 seconds to let the excess batter drip off. Then carefully place in oil. Repeat with another 5 prawns (6 per batch).
- 3 minutes Fry #1: Cook for 3 minutes until light golden and crispy. When you pick them up, you can tell it's very crispy.
- Drain and repeat: Place prawns on a tray with paper towels. Repeat with remaining prawns. I cook in 4 batches. Don't crowd the pot as it brings oil temperature down too much.
- Cool prawns for 20 minutes (Note 5). Meanwhile, make Sauce.
Honey Sauce:
- Simmer: Place ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer, turn down stove to medium low then leave to simmer for 3 minutes.
- Syrupy consistency: The consistency should be like maple syrup (see video). Turn off stove, place lid on to keep warm (when cool, it gets too thick to toss prawns in it).
Fry #2 – for ultra-crispy!
- Heat oil to 200°C/390°F.
- 3 minutes Fry #2: Place half the prawns in oil (you can crowd the pot for Fry #2). Cook for 3 minutes or until it changes from pale golden to very golden, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate. You can tell by touching that it's built-to-last crispy! More golden = crispier (but don't overcook the prawns!) Repeat with remaining prawns.
Sauce and serve:
- Quickly toss: Transfer prawns to a metal bowl then pour over Honey Sauce. Quickly toss with rubber spatula to coat prawns in sauce. (Sauce starts thickening if you take too long, so be quick!)
- Garnish: Pile prawns over crispy rice noodles (if using), scatter with sesame seeds, green onion and serve!
Puffy crispy rice noodles (optional):
- At any point while oil is hot, drop a wad of noodles into hot oil, wait 3 seconds until it puffs up, then remove with tongs.
- Drain on paper towels, place on plate. Top with prawns! (Note: Crispy noodles stays crispy "forever" so you can do this well ahead. Not for eating – is flavourless.)
Recipe Notes:
- Double fry the prawns. Fully cool. Reheat in 180°C/350°F oven for 5 – 7 minutes. just to heat prawns through and make the coating crispy again.
- Reheat Honey Sauce so it’s runny. Toss with prawns, serve!
Nutrition Information:
Lucky 8: Eight more Chinese takeaway favourites
Life of Dozer
Honey Prawn vs beautifully plated piece of raw eggplant. Which did he choose?
Anybody who couldn’t guess should get their head checked. 😂
These look fabulous and will try also as the chicken that was suggested in some of the comments. Anyone who knows Dozer would have guessed right about both plates. He is such a smart beautiful boy. I also love the smile picture!
Thanks so much Mary! N x
Made it with medium size frozen prawns, and as per usual with your recipes the result was very good, so 5 stars for the food, however 3 stars for the recipe!
Dust prawns: 1/2 cup cornflour, dredging? 80g cornflour, batter: 9 tbsp cornflour, exactly which measuring system are we using, and what on earth is 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp, clicking cup/metric doesn’t change anything, cmon Nagi, I love your recipes but this mix of American volume measurements coupled with gram weight is nuts, I’m looking forward to your book, and hoping you have a proper metric weights and measures recipe next to the home cook one. btw, my wife has been making “recipetineats” dishes for the last year or so, and is very impressed with them, I make “Nagi” dishes, after loving the prawns and being impressed with the noodles she proclaimed it was as good as anything “recipetineats” had to offer, somehow she had never cottoned on to them being one and the same, well now she knows and it will be interesting to see how she refers to the next dish she cooks from your site. All the best and stay safe.
Yep you’ve nailed it! And I never know whether she’s using Australian tablespoons or US (I suspect US=15ml), but it’s not mentioned anywhere. Big difference in the outcome for some recipes which call for (for example) 6 tablespoons of an ingredient :/
Steph, if you click on the recipe’s metric toggle it will tell you how many mls is needed for that ingredient e.g. 6 tablespoons will now read as 90 mls. So that is 6 US tablespoons or 4 Aus tablespoons + 2 teaspoons 🙂
Hi Grahame, my amounts are spot on – I list both metric and cups so everyone can make the recipe without doing odd conversions – I’ve done the work for you (Simply click the metric toggle). If you’re ever confused (which but the sounds of it you may be) Click the metric toggle and follow the gram/ml amount as that’s the same no matter where you’re located! N x
This looks fabulous and I will make although I’d like to spice it up. How do you suggest I do so?
Hey Julie, I just read it in the notes. Enjoy 😉
Hi Julie – I’ve mentioned this in the recipe notes 🙂 N x
These Honey Prawns look absolutely wonderful! I will make them this weekend. As for calories… everyone knows that seafood is fat free! So I for one will eat my fill of these prawns. Don’t be stingy with the prawns. After all, Dozer is the taste tester.
Yes! Seafood is healthy… so… eat as much as you want 😂 N x
Adorable Dozer. Love that he still licked the sauce off of the veg plate. He knows the good stuff😋
He knows the good stuff 😂 N x
Nagi, since you say these are still crisp the next day, would it be OK to make these earlier in the day and then warm in the oven just before adding the sauce and serving?
Yes definitely, see the recipe notes for making in advance 🙂 N x
Thank you Nagi. You are the best!
I agree Dozer, Prawn first then everything except the eggplant, you certainly do clean a plate well you gorgeous boy…🥰💜⭐
He will leave no crumb unlicked! N x
After the first fry, how long can I hold the prawns before the second fry?
Could I do the first fry earlier in the day and just finish them before serving?
Love your site and I have learned so much.
Hi Becky, I have the best way to make ahead of time listed in the recipe notes – N x
Love how you transform Restaurant meals to look and taste so Delicious, as I pinned this I got that message that I had this recipe, Have you updated this recipe. I over ride it and pinned again just in case. Thanks Nagi, your a super star…🌻🌺🐝
Thanks so much Lindi! This is a new recipe 🙂 N x
anyone heard of kung fu prawns?
Hi Larry, do you meal Kungn Pao prawns? N x
I buy kung fu prawns from a sushi place I frequent. He seems to have a recipe but I cannot fathom it. He is Korean and I think he has added something to it. It tastes unbelievable, hot but slightly sweet and you cant put them down.
Could you use chicken in the same batter?? I could have shrimp and my husband chicken.😁
Nagi has done a chicken version before, and it’s absolutely to die for. I’ve made it several times and it never fails to satisfy my takeout cravings!
Here is the direct link,
https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-chicken-stay-crispy/
Hi Sharon – yes! It’s linked in the recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-chicken-stay-crispy/ N x
OMG! After mastering your fabulous stir fry recipe my boyfriend challenged me to take on honey prawns the other day, so I was going to use your recipe for honey chicken and adapt it to prawns. But it’s like you knew I was planning on it!! Thank you! Can’t wait to try ☺️☺️
Wahoo!!! Love to know how it goes Bronte! N x
Yeeeeeeeeehaaaaaahhhh!!! Woop! Woop! Woop! Well DONE Nagi!!! Been waiting for this for so long!!! You rock!!!
I bloody love your chinese take out re-creations… So many awesome memories growing up eating this food!!!
I hope you give it a go and love it Brad!!! N x
Loved this recipe Nagi. Instructions as always well explained n easy to follow. My children had their friends over n that was it, clean swipe ! 2kgs of prawns vanished in no time !
I love hearing this Priya!!! N x
This is right up my alley, fresh tiger prawns no problem (when you work on a prawn farm) plus an AFL grand final tomorrow night what treat. Lovin’ it Nagi
The perfect combo Tony!! N x
You have just managed to make me feel very, very old ! Because a university boyfriend trying very, very hard to impress took me to a Chinese cellar restaurant in the mid-1950s and ordered this and we absolutely loved it and – a funky cellar place on Pitt near Martin Place . . . cannot find it on Google . . . ‘Chopsticks’ ? Oh we had ordered two servings of short soup and a number of dishes along with the prawns . . . that probably was one of the most embarrassing but educational evenings in my food life !!! The prawns are simple but oh so tasty . . . yep, still make them . . . you teach well – love bigtime !!!
Oh I love this Eha, honey prawns – they’re so retro but won’t ever get old will they?! N x
Wow, wow oh wow, those Honey Prawns…Will be giving this go……Your recipes are just the best…..Keep on cooking and giving us recipes
Thanks so much Liza! N x
Love your recipes,I also am looking forward to your cookbook
Honey Prawns ,Yummo!
Dozer,your funny
Thanks
Anne
Thanks so much Anne! N x
Haha, Dozer still licked the sauce off the eggplant!
He wouldn’t waste a drop! N x
Haha. You could see Dozer’s nose oriented towards the prawn.
Would you be able to cook chicken in the same way?
Love your site. Can’t wait for your book 😀. Good luck with it.
The chicken batter is a little different, I think because shrimp tends to release more water. Here is Nagi’s “Honey Chicken – Stays Crispy”:
https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-chicken-stay-crispy/
Hi Teodora, You can, take a look here: https://www.recipetineats.com/honey-chicken-stay-crispy/ N x
Thank you Nagi.
I will do it very soon.