Crispy Gambas Rice Skillet
Day-old rice fried in garlicky gambas oil, pressed into the skillet until a crackling crust forms, then crowned with soft-set eggs.
Method
Pat the prawns dry and cut large ones into 2 or 3 pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes and break up the cold rice with your hands.
Add in this stepPeeled prawns (shrimp) 160 gCherry tomatoes 100 gCooked rice (cold, day-old) 400 g
Put the olive oil, garlic and chili in a 24 cm skillet and cook over low heat for until the garlic is pale gold. Scoop out half the garlic chips and keep them for topping.
Add in this stepOlive oil 45 mlGarlic (cloves, sliced) 5Dried chili (peperoncino) 1
low heatAdd the prawns and cook over medium heat for until pink, then lift them out onto a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil in the pan.
medium heatAdd the tomatoes and smoked paprika and fry over medium-high heat for until the tomatoes just soften, then add the rice and salt and stir-fry for . The rice is ready when every grain is coated in oil and separate.
Add in this stepSmoked paprika 1 tspSalt ½ tsp
medium-high heatPress the rice flat with a spatula and put the prawns back on top. Make one hollow per egg with a spoon, crack in the eggs, cover with a lid or foil and leave over medium-low heat for . It is done when the bottom crackles and the egg whites are set.
Add in this stepEggs 2
medium-low heatScatter over the reserved garlic chips and the parsley and serve with lemon wedges. Scrape up the crust from the bottom and mix it with the runny yolks as you eat.
Add in this stepParsley (chopped) to tasteLemon ½
Cook's tip
Use cold, cooked rice; freshly cooked rice goes mushy. Resist lifting the rice to check the crust, or it will not form; go by the crackling sound and the toasty smell.
Cooking it at camp
Make it straight after gambas in the leftover oil and you skip the garlic step entirely. Bring rice cooked and cooled the day before in a zip bag in the cool box. If your burner has a hot spot, turn the pan a quarter turn every minute so the crust browns evenly.