Dinner · South African
Prawn Bunny Chow
A hollowed quarter-loaf filled with a thick tomato-and-coconut prawn curry, with a quick sauce designed to keep the prawns tender.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4 quarter-loaf servings
Cook it
Method
Thaw frozen prawns in the refrigerator. Keep the prawns refrigerated while preparing the onion, garlic and ginger. Measure the spices and sauce ingredients before heating the pan so the quick-cooking prawns can be added only when the sauce is ready.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over medium heat. Add the onion and half the salt; cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
Stir in the curry powder, turmeric and cumin for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously so the spices do not scorch.
Add the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and 100 ml water. Scrape the base of the pan, bring to a gentle simmer, then cook uncovered over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to mound on a spoon.
Add the prawns in one layer and stir them through the sauce. Simmer gently for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once, until every prawn is firm, pearly or white and opaque through the centre. Check several of the thickest prawns; do not serve any translucent pieces.
Remove the pan from the heat as soon as the prawns are done. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and add the remaining salt only as needed. The finished curry should be thick rather than runny; simmer for 1 extra minute only if necessary.
Cut the unsliced loaf crosswise into four equal quarter-loaves. From each cut face, lift out a plug of soft bread, leaving a 1.5 cm wall and an intact crust base.
Set each quarter-loaf on a rimmed plate and spoon in the hot prawn curry immediately before serving. Add the bread plug and optional coriander alongside. Do not leave the seafood curry standing at room temperature for later service.
Make it work
Useful substitutions
- For prawns, use 600 g skinless firm white fish cut into 3 cm pieces and cook until the centre reaches 63°C or is opaque and flakes easily. This produces a fish bunny chow rather than the historical prawn identity.
- For coconut milk, use 200 ml unsweetened cooking cream if dairy is suitable. Add it after the tomato sauce has reduced, keep the heat gentle and expect a less coconut-forward result.
- For a milder curry, choose a mild curry powder rather than a medium or hot blend; keep the full measured amount. Check spice, bread and coconut-milk labels for allergens; substitutions are not automatically allergy-safe.
Keep it well
Storage and reheating
- Keep the curry separate from the bread; a filled loaf becomes soggy and should be eaten promptly.
- Transfer leftover prawn curry to shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Use refrigerated leftovers within 3 to 4 days; discard seafood left out longer than 2 hours.
- Reheat only the portion needed to 74°C throughout, stirring so the prawns and centre of the sauce heat evenly. Fill freshly cut bread only after reheating; repeated reheating can make prawns tough.
Recipe notes
Sources and cooking notes
An original measured tomato-and-coconut prawn curry for the historically documented Prawn Bunny Chow URL. The former recipe text was not recovered. South African Tourism informed the bread-bowl format; Woolworths TASTE informed the regional prawn-curry sequencing. No physical cooking test is claimed.
- Bunny Chow 101 — Hollowed white-loaf serving format and curry-filled bunny chow identity.
- Prawn curry — South African prawn-curry context and the sequence of building a tomato-spice sauce before briefly cooking the prawns; this formula and wording are independently authored.
- AI Love Food editorial methodology — Measured ingredient balance, timing plausibility, ordered method, yield and dish-specific review.
- Safe Selection and Handling of Fish and Shellfish — Safe thawing, raw-seafood separation, prompt chilling and prawn doneness guidance.
- Leftovers and Food Safety — Two-hour refrigeration limit, three-to-four-day refrigerated storage and reheating leftovers to 74°C.