This Fried Prawns With Soy Sauce recipe is also known as 豉油皇煎虾碌, a popular Cantonese-style prawn dish found in Chinese restaurants. The glossy soy glaze, buttery aroma, and crisp prawn shells make it a favourite for family dinners, CNY gatherings, and seafood lovers.
Watch How To Make Fried Prawn With Soy Sauce – Recipe Video
Fried Prawns with Soy Sauce (豉油皇煎虾碌 See Yau Wong Jin Ha Luk) is a classic Chinese seafood dish. It is simple to prepare, extremely flavourful and very popular in many Asian households and Chinese restaurants. This dish highlights the natural sweetness of fresh prawns, enhanced with the savoury aroma of soy sauce. The prawns are usually deep-fried or pan-fried until golden and crispy on the outside, while remaining juicy and tender on the inside.
The soy sauce mixture adds a rich umami flavour, often complemented with garlic and spring onions for extra fragrance. This sauce has an extra ingredient added, unsalted butter. The butter adds a gentle richness to the sauce and contributes to its attractive shine. It is a dish that’s quick to prepare, making it perfect for both everyday meals and a centrepiece for festive occasions. Best enjoyed hot, it pairs wonderfully with steamed rice or noodles.
⭐ Why This Fried Prawns With Soy Sauce Recipe Works
Crispy, juicy prawn texture – high-heat frying locks in moisture.
Chinese Restaurant-style aroma – garlic + spring onion fragrance enhances the prawns.
Uses common ingredients found in Asian kitchens.
🍤 Tips On Choosing Prawns For This Dish
Choose prawns that are medium to large in size so they stay juicy after frying.
Choose prawns with a firm body, shiny shell and no strong smell.
🦐 Main Types of Prawns
Ming Prawns – best for frying with shell and head for strong prawn aroma. It is medium to large in size. It has translucent grey shell when raw, orange when cooked. It is juicy and is naturally sweet in taste. As for texture, it is tender and flavourful.
White Prawns – Best for quick stir-fry, soups or dishes where sauce is the main flavour. It is small to medium in size. It has light grey-white shell which turns pink when cooked. It tastes mild and delicate. Its texture is soft and tender.
Sea Tiger Prawns – Best for deep frying, grilling or presentation dishes. It is medium to large in size. It has dark bands on the shell (black/green), which turns bright orange when cooked. It has a firm and sweet taste and rich in flavour. Its texture is meaty and springy.
King Prawns – Best for premium dishes, stir-fry or frying with sauce. It is a very large prawn. It has pink-grey shell which turns bright red when cooked. It tastes mildly sweet. It has firm texture and has a chunky bite.
Banana Prawns – Best for stir-frying, curries or deep fried dishes. It is medium to large in size. It has yellowish shell when raw. It has a sweet flavour. It has a firm texture, good for absorbing sauce.
Ingredients You Need for Making Fried Prawns With Soy Sauce
Fresh Prawns
Garlic
Spring Oninos
Rock Sugar
Oyster Sauce
Light Soy Sauce
Dark Soy Sauce
Butter
Overview On How to Make Fried Prawns With Soy Sauce
Part 1: Prepare Ingredients
Clean the prawns. Trim legs and feelers from prawns. Devein, rinse and dry thoroughly.
Peel garlic and cut into cubes.
Cut spring onions into long strips, separating the greens from the whites.
Place rock sugar and light soy sauce in pan, Cook till rock sugar dissolves. Then add in oyster sauce and darik soy sauce for colours.
Part 2: Cook Fried Prawns With Soy Sauce
In a wok or pan, fry prawns in very hot oil over high heat till 70-80% cooked. Fry in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Transfer to a plate.
Leave some oil in wok and fry the garlic till golden and fragrant. Remove from wok.
Stir fry the whites of spring onions till fragrant. Then add in the fried prawns together with the fried garlics. Stir fry for a short while to let the flavour of garlic and spring onion absorb into the prawns.
Then slowly add in the sauce mixture. Continue to fry till all the sauce is well coated onto the prawns. Lastly, add in the green parts of spring onion.
Turn the heat to high, stir fry a short while and dish up to serve.
🍽️ Serving Suggestions
Classic Chinese Style:
Serve the prawns hot with steamed jasmine or white rice.
Modern/Restaurant Style:
Serve the prawns in a line or circle on a plate together with a side of garlic fried rice or sautéed greens.
Fusion/Western Style:
Serve them on top of a small bed of noodles or fried rice garnish with greens or chopped coriander.
🍳 Cooking Tips for Success – Common Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
Choose the right prawns – Use medium to large size prawns like Tiger Prawns, Ming Prawns and White Prawns. These prawns stay juicy even after frying. Fresh prawns should smell ocean-clean, not fishy. Keep the shell and head for more flavour.
Prepare the prawns properly – Trim the long feelers and legs. Devein the prawns by slicing the back slightly and pulling out the black veins. Pat dry rinsed prawns with paper towels as moisture causes oil splatter and soggy shells.
Get the oil temperature right – The most important thing in frying the prawns is the oil temperature. Heat oil to about 170-180 degree C (medium-high heat) in order to be able to fry the prawns. Fry prawns in batches (do not overcrowd). If all the prawns are fried one go, the oil temperature will drop. In short, throughout the frying process, maintain high temperature all the way. Fry until shells turn bright orange and crisp, around 1-2 minutes per side depending on size.
Prepare all the ingredients in advance – easy access before you start to stir fry the prawns.
Stir fry the prawns in just about 30 seconds – overcooking makes the prawns rubbery.
Serve immediately while hot – the shells stay crisp and the sauce glossy.
💬 FAQ About This Recipe
1. What prawns are best for frying with soy sauce?
Medium to large prawns like Tiger Prawns, Ming Prawns, or King Prawns work best because they stay juicy even after frying.
2. Why are my fried prawns not crispy?
The oil may be too cold or the wok overcrowded. Maintain 170–180°C and fry in batches.
3. Can I make this dish without shells?
Yes, but prawns will lose aroma and can dry out faster. Shell-on gives better flavour and texture.
4. How do I prevent prawns from turning rubbery?
Do not overcook. Fry briefly, then stir-fry for less than 1 minute with sauce.
5. Can I prepare soy sauce prawns ahead of time?
It’s best served fresh, but you can prepare the sauce in advance.
A Cantonese-style dish featuring crispy fried prawns coated in a glossy, umami soy sauce with garlic and spring onions. Simple, aromatic, and ready in minutes.
Rinse the prawns, trim off the sharp rostrum, the legs and sharp tip of the tail. Devein the prawns and rinse under running water to make sure its clean.
Pat dry the rinsed prawns with paper towels and set aside.
Peel garlic and cut into big cubes. Cut spring onions into long strips, separating the green and white parts.
Prepare the Sauce:
Have ready all ingredients to make the sauce.
To prepare the sauce, first place crushed rock sugar and some water in a pan. Using low heat, cook slowly till all the rock sugar melts, stirring constantly.
Then place the dissolved rock sugar liquid into a bowl. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well the sauce. Set aside for later use.
Cooking Fried Prawns with Sauce:
First, we need to fry the prawns. Heat wok and add in oil. Using medium high heat, heat up oil till very hot. Fry the prawn for about 20-30sec. Drain and set aside.
Remove excess oil from wok. Leave just a little and fry the cut garlic cubes till fragrant and garlic turns golden in colour. Remove and set aside.
Next, to the garlic oil, add in the white parts of spring onions. Stir fry till fragrant. Then add in the fried prawns straight away together with the fried garlic cubes. Stir fry for a while to let the fragrance of garlic and spring onions get infused into the prawns.
Next, slowly add the sauce mixture and continue to stir fry till the sauce coat all the prawns. Lastly, add in the green part of spring onions and butter. Turn the heat to high and continue to stir fry till butter dissolved and evenly coat all the prawn. And we are done!
Serve this prawn dish hot with steamed white rice and Enjoy!
Choose the right prawns – Use medium to large size prawns like Tiger Prawns, Ming Prawns and White Prawns. These prawns stay juicy even after frying. Fresh prawns should smell ocean-clean, not fishy. Keep the shell and head for more flavour.
Prepare the prawns properly – Trim the long feelers and legs. Devein the prawns by slicing the back slightly and pulling out the black veins. Pat dry rinsed prawns with paper towels as moisture causes oil splatter and soggy shells.
Get the oil temperature right – The most important thing in frying the prawns is the oil temperature. Heat oil to about 170-180 degree C (medium-high heat) in order to be able to fry the prawns. Fry prawns in batches (do not overcrowd). If all the prawns are fried one go, the oil temperature will drop. In short, throughout the frying process, maintain high temperature all the way. Fry until shells turn bright orange and crisp, around 1-2 minutes per side depending on size.
Prepare all the ingredients in advance – easy access before you start to stir fry the prawns.
Stir fry the prawns in just about 30 seconds – overcooking makes the prawns rubbery.
Serve immediately while hot – the shells stay crisp and the sauce glossy.
Angie Liew (known as Huang) has a strong love for cooking from a young age. Being a self taught chef, she focuses on improving cooking recipes, simplifying and documenting cooking methods so that her great home cooked dishes can be served and shared among family and friends.
Prepare all ingredients needed to cook the dish.
Rinse the prawns, trim off the sharp rostrum, the legs and sharp tip of the tail. Devein the prawns and rinse under running water to make sure its clean.
Pat dry the rinsed prawns with paper towels and set aside.
Peel garlic and cut into big cubes. Cut spring onions into long strips, separating the green and white parts.
Have ready all ingredients to make the sauce.
To prepare the sauce, first place crushed rock sugar and some water in a pan. Using low heat, cook slowly till all the rock sugar melts, stirring constantly.
Then place the dissolved rock sugar liquid into a bowl. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to mix well the sauce. Set aside for later use.
First, we need to fry the prawns. Heat wok and add in oil. Using medium high heat, heat up oil till very hot. Fry the prawn for about 20-30sec. Drain and set aside.
Remove excess oil from wok. Leave just a little and fry the cut garlic cubes till fragrant and garlic turns golden in colour. Remove and set aside.
Next, to the garlic oil, add in the white parts of spring onions. Stir fry till fragrant. Then add in the fried prawns straight away together with the fried garlic cubes. Stir fry for a while to let the fragrance of garlic and spring onions get infused into the prawns.
Next, slowly add the sauce mixture and continue to stir fry till the sauce coat all the prawns. Lastly, add in the green part of spring onions and butter. Turn the heat to high and continue to stir fry till butter dissolved and evenly coat all the prawn. And we are done!
Serve this prawn dish hot with steamed white rice and Enjoy!