Creamy garlic prawn fettuccine

Long pasta like fettucini or spaghetti with creamy sauce always urges me to try cooking and tasting. It’s simply because as a Vietnamese, we are familiar with having soup in our everyday meal. So pasta with sauce doesn’t make the dish look so dry, and when we eat, the running creamy texture creates a feeling of juiciness.

I don’t really like fatty dishes, and some cream sauce that uses too much butter, egg, cream, flour or cheese makes me hesitate to try a bite. However, I am totally satisfied with this dish. The rich taste that comes from whipping cream is reduced a bit by a mild sourness of tomatoes.That’s what I like the most.

It is not difficult to get fresh prawns in Singapore, the sweetness and firm texture of which adds great flavour to the sauce and wll combines with the soft and chewy texture of the pasta. However, it is not easy to buy fresh basil here, or even if fresh basil is available, I also cannot afford to buy a small pack due to its high price. Therefore, instead of using fresh basil, I used dried chopped basil. The dish still turned out great in my mouth though.

Preparation: (4 servings)

- 400g dried or fresh fettuccine

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 onion, finely chopped

- 3 garlic cloves, crushed

- 400g tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

- 3 tablespoons white wine

- 250ml pouring (whipping cream)

- 1kg raw prawns, peeled, deveined and tails intact

- 15g roughly chopped basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Cooking:

- Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boling salted water until al dente. Drain well and return to the pan to keep warm.

- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 4-5 minutes until the onion is soft.

- Add the tomato and wine, cook for 3 minues, then add the cream. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes, or until it slightly thickens.

- Stir in the prawns, then simmer for another 3-4 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked just cooked through. Toss with the pasta, stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.