Home cooking: Caesar salad with Cajun prawns

Photos by Claire Zheng

There's a chink in the Caesar's armor: the salad has become too popular, and some chefs don't find it appealing anymore.

Once a hallmark of fine-dining establishments where it was often prepared tableside, the iconic mix of greens has become so wildly popular in the past 20 years that no restaurant could open without one on the menu. That's not to say all Caesars bear resemblance to the classic version said to have been invented in 1924 by Italian chef Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico; but for some like Chef Joe Wan from the Langham Place, Guangzhou, the Caesar is sacred and not to be dismissed.

A traditional Caesar salad, as all good recipes will tell you, gets its swagger from a great dressing. Squeamish about raw egg yolks and anchovies? Sorry. Yolks are what give richness to the emulsion, while anchovies provide a briny blast. Marry it with some fragrant Cajun-spiced tiger prawns and you’ve got yourself a simple, fresh and healthy winner.

Ingredients (makes 5 servings):
180g romaine lettuce
15 fresh tiger prawns, shelled with tails intact
3-4 tbsp Cajun spice mix, store bought
2 tsp olive oil or butter
50g Parmesan shavings
Cracked black pepper
5 thin slices of bacon, fried and diced
Croutons

Caesar dressing:
300g tinned anchovies
1 garlic clove, peeled and grated
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
5 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
25g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper to taste
125ml extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:
1) Using a mortar and pestle, mix up the anchovies and garlic with a pinch of salt.
2) Add in the egg yolk, Worscestershire sauce, vinegar and Parmesan, then mix it up again.
3) Scrape the sauce off the pestle, then add in a teaspoon of powdered black pepper and whisk in the olive oil (which should be drizzled in) until the mixture emulsifies.
4) Add in the lemon juice and whisk again.
5) Correct the seasoning if necessary and set aside in the refrigerator.
6) Heat two tablespoons of butter or oil in a non-stick pan. Dust the prawns with the Cajun spice mix, pressing it into the flesh. Pan-fry them for about two minutes on each side on high heat until brown.
7) Toss the salad leaves in the dressing then plate.
8) Put three prawns atop the salad. Garnish with bacon, black pepper, shaved Parmesan and croutons. Serve immediately!

// This recipe is courtesy of Western Kitchen Executive Chef Joe Wan from the Langham Place, Guangzhou, 638 Xingang Dong Lu, Haizhu District 海珠区新港东路638号 (8916 3388)