Fregola with prawns and gochujang

This fusion recipe for fregola with prawns and gochujang is inspired by Alex Wong’s experience as a sous chef working at a Sardinian restaurant and his Asian heritage. Inspired by the Sardinian fregola with prawns, this creative spin adds gochujang for a spicy kick, Thai basil for fragrance and stracciatella for creaminess.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

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episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

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Ingredients

• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 large eschallot, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
• ½ bunch Thai basil leaves
• Sea salt flakes
• 1 pinch fennel seeds
• 1 pinch saffron threads
• 50 g large cherry tomatoes, halved
• 200 g Sardinian fregola (toasted)
• 1 tbsp gochujang (Korean fermented chilli paste)
• 120 ml dry white wine
• 600 ml – 700 ml prawn or shellfish stock (warmed)
• 2- 3 tbsp passata
• 200 g roughly chopped prawn meat
• 20 g butter, unsalted
• 1 lemon, halved
• 50 g stracciatella
• 10 g sil gochu (Korean angel hair chilli), lightly fried in hot oil

Instructions

1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to cover the base of the pan. Add the eschallot, garlic, chilli, a few basil leaves and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, not browned.
   
2. Stir through the fennel seeds, saffron and cherry tomatoes and cook gently for a further 2 minutes.
   
3. Reduce the heat to low, then add the fregola and gochujang and stir to combine.
   
4. Increase the heat to high and add the white wine and cook until almost evaporated. Add a few ladles of the warmed stock and cook, risotto-style for 8 minutes. Once the fregola is almost tender, stir through the passata, followed by the prawns. Reduce the heat to low, stirring occasionally, until the prawns are just cooked. Remove the pan from the heat and stir through the butter. Season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
   
5. Divide the fregola between serving bowls. Spoon over the stracciatella and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Thai basil leaves and some fried Korean chilli threads and serve.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Stream free On Demand

Bowl Me Over

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G

episode • The Cook Up with Adam Liaw • 

cooking • 

25m

G