- 500g/1lb 2oz raw prawns, peeled and cleaned
- 50g/2oz pork fat (or use streaky bacon)
- 100g/3½oz dried shrimp, soaked for an hour in hot water
- 50g/2oz shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra for dipping
- ½ chilli, finely chopped, to taste
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 10 sticks sugar cane (available in some Asian and Caribbean speciality shops)
- black and white sesame seeds, for coating
- groundnut oil, for deep frying
- salad leaves, to serve
- Place the prawns and pork fat in a food processor and blend to a paste.
- Add the dried shrimp, shallot, fish sauce, chilli and black pepper to the mixture and blend again.
- Cut the sugar cane into sticks the size of lolly sticks. Wet your hands and mould a ball of the mixture around the broad end of the cane. Smooth it, so it looks like an egg-shaped lolly. Roll the mixture roughly in the sesame seeds.
- Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan. It is ready when a breadcrumb that is dropped in will sizzle gently in it. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)
- Deep fry the prawn sticks in the oil for about 5 minutes or until coloured. If possible finish them off over a charcoal fire or grill to crisp up.
- Serve on a bed of crisp salad leaves using more fish sauce as a dipping sauce. The sugar cane can be chewed at the end to extract the juice.