Shadowing Practice: Prawn Bisque with Queensland Tiger Prawns | HOLY BASIL RECIPES - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Hey guys, how are you doing?
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Hey guys, how are you doing?
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It's Duncan here at Holbele Basil Thai in Croydon and I'm here to show you another beautiful soup,
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a traditional soup with a tiny tiny Thai twist.
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Today we'll be making a prawn bisque and the prawns we're using are these beautiful tiger prawns from Queensland.
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They're so fresh and lovely.
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I just want to show you how I like to peel a prawn.
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Firstly what I do is support the prawn between the head
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and the body here
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and then just using my finger with some gloves on just to go in against the belly here and just scraping down,
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taking off the legs and then simply peeling around the body.
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very very simple very clean and easy
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and then to devein the prawn we just take a small knife
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and going in from the top of the back here we
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just cut a line down the back of the prawn
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and in here you'll see two different things one of them
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we keep all of these ones here is beautiful all of the row all of this green sometimes it's orange
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and this thin little one inside is the one that we want to remove.
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So don't remove all of this it adds a lot of beautiful flavour.
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Okay then what we need to do is in this case I'm going to remove the head
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and I'm going to keep the heads separate from the prawn tail.
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The prawn tail I'm going to poach these in the soup later including
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that row line down the back and the tail will just look nice and presentable in the soup as well.
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So now it's just time to continue killing these prawns.
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And that is it, all of those removed.
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Now it's really important when you're making the bisque
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that you do buy whole prawns because you will need those shells as part of the soup.
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You're also going to need some butter,
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some tomato paste, coriander root,
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some fresh leek, a couple of shallots, one fresh tomato.
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Over here, we have some Mare Kong whiskey.
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Now, Mare Kong whiskey is my little tie twist on this.
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Normally you'd use a brandy or a rum but I like to use the mercom.
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We've got some stock here,
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some fish stock, some pepper,
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finishing it off with some cream and coriander for garnish and this one here is beurre maniere.
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Now beurre maniere is just a simple mixture of equal parts butter
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and plain flour mixed together well it's a cold roux
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and then what we do is at the end
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when we need to thicken it we'll add that at the very end but really easy to make.
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Okay let's get started.
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Starting with just a little bit of oil we're then going to place the butter in with the oil.
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Using a wooden spoon, an extremely large pre-burnt well loved industry standard wooden spoon,
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we're then going to add our prawn shells to the butter and oil.
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Cook those prawn shells until they become nice and red in color.
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Then we're going to add some leek,
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our shallots, and then again saute that until they become a little bit softened but no color.
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We add the tomato paste.
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I like to add a good two to three tablespoons of tomato paste
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so that we get a nice rich red color in our soup.
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Okay, what I've got here is from my mortar and pestle,
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I've got a beautiful large piece of marble.
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We need something heavy, we want to crush up these shells.
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We want to release all of the flavour that's inside those prawn heads.
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Okay the next thing we're going to add is our coriander root.
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It's not very traditional but this soup ends up being blended together
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and all of these flavours melt and I think the coriander root is a really lovely flavour to have in this biz.
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Now we're going to add our mer kong.
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Now we need to flambe our alcohol so we're going to add that in first,
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wait for the alcohol to become hot and once it's hot just use a lighter and carefully ignite it.
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The reason for doing this is to burn off the alcohol that's in there.
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Once that's done, we add,
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no not some more mercom, we add some stock.
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So I'm going to add here a good litre of beautiful fish stock
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and then we're just going to let that simmer for about 15 minutes.
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Now that all that lovely colour has come out from the crustacean shell,
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it's time to strain it.
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And because I smashed it up before,
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all that flavour came out from inside the head.
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If you like, you can actually put it into a food processor and blend it even further,
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but you need to put it through something very fine,
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like a muslin pot.
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So now that all of that lovely liquid is being strained,
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we put it back into our pot,
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and then it's just time to add a few more ingredients.
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Firstly, some seasoning with some salt,
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a little bit of white pepper,
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and then we're going to put in some fresh tomato.
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turn that back on and then again we simmer that for another five minutes.
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Tomatoes have just started to soften and now I'm just going to add the prawns
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and just let those poach for about three minutes.
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Then once they have cooked I'm going to remove the tomato
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and the prawn and build those into the base of my plate and then we can pour the soup around it.
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So now that the prawns have been presented with the tomatoes,
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it's just time to finish off the soup.
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We start by adding our cream,
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approximately one part cream to three part soup would be a good estimate.
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Bring that to the boil and then we'll just thicken it with the beurre maniere as needed.
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And now that the soup is a beautiful consistency,
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we just pour that soup around the prawns and around the tomato.
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If we pour it on top,
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everything will become the one colour,
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so I like to have the contrast of the centerpiece compared to the actual soup itself.
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And then just simply garnish that with a few coriander leaves.
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You could use parsley or chervil or dill.
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They would all be perfect.
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There we go.
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A really simple dish.
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A beautiful prawn bisque using Queensland tiger prawns with a tiny,
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tiny touch of Thailand using that Meokong whiskey and the coriander root as well.
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A beautiful soup of French tradition with a Thai twist.
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Enjoy!

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Context & Background

In this video titled "Prawn Bisque with Queensland Tiger Prawns," Duncan, a chef at Holbele Basil Thai in Croydon, takes viewers on a culinary journey. He introduces a traditional prawn bisque with a unique Thai twist, showcasing the use of fresh Queensland tiger prawns. Throughout the video, Duncan emphasizes the importance of fresh ingredients and careful preparation techniques, which provide an engaging context for English learners interested in culinary vocabulary and expressions. This setting not only helps to make learning practical but also immerses learners in everyday communication related to cooking.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

  • "How are you doing?" - A friendly greeting to initiate conversation.
  • "Let me show you how I like to..." - A phrase used to introduce a process or technique.
  • "It's really important..." - A way to highlight essential information.
  • "We need to buy whole prawns..." - This indicates the significance of quality ingredients in cooking.
  • "Let's get started." - A common expression to signal the beginning of an activity.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

For English learners looking to improve their speaking skills, using the shadowing technique with this video can significantly enhance your language acquisition. Follow these steps to maximize your practice:

  1. Watch and Listen: Begin by watching the video once without trying to repeat anything. Focus on understanding the context and the speaker's tone.
  2. Segment the Content: Break the transcript into smaller sections. For instance, isolate the part where Duncan demonstrates peeling the prawns. This will make it easier to digest complex phrases.
  3. Repeat and Mimic: Use the shadowing technique by playing back short clips. Pause after each sentence, repeating what Duncan says aloud. Pay close attention to his pronunciation and intonation to improve your English pronunciation.
  4. Record Yourself: After practicing, record your voice while repeating the phrases to evaluate your progress. Compare it to the original to spot areas for improvement.
  5. Revisit and Review: Regularly revisit the video and your recordings. Consistent practice will help solidify your English speaking skills and enhance your vocabulary in culinary contexts.

By engaging with this cooking video and applying the shadowing technique, you'll not only learn how to prepare a delicious prawn bisque, but you'll also boost your English speaking practice and confidence. Explore videos, expand your vocabulary, and learn English with YouTube effectively!

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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