You will be left with the head of the shrimp which now will look like a rough cylinder or barrel [use your imagination, people!!]. Take the discarded “horn” called a rostron or some such in shrimp anatomy, and carefully hold it by the base with your finger and thumb. Insert the sharp point into the space where the “face” used to be. With some practice, you will be able to hook one end of this digestive canal, the “black vein”, that runs from mouth to tail!!

Pull it out slowly, and the whole length should come out. Never get frustrated or angry, and always switch off telephones, and put children to sleep or send them off on walks with someone. Ditto dogs, cats and loose parrots. Also, parrots on the loose!! To say nothing of Rodentia.

I was born and raised in Melaka, I guess I can be considered a “trueblue” Baba since both parents are Peranakan.

We often cooked this same dish but with salted Ikan Sepat (not sure what they call it in English) instead of prawns. I remember one of my first attempts at cooking this and forgot the candlenut… made all the difference in the taste!