Instructions: Combine the pine nuts, oil, garlic and ginger in the work bowl of a food processor. Process to a coarse paste. Add the cilantro, basil, sesame oil, salt and sugar. Process to make a smooth puree.

For the Dish: Clip the legs off the prawns with kitchen shears. Cut through the top shell of the prawns, starting at the tail end, and scoring the tail meat about 1/2-inch deep as you go. Leave the heads intact. Arrange the prawns in a heatproof glass pie dish large enough to hold the prawns comfortably with the butterflied cavities facing up. Rub the tail meat of each prawn with a teaspoon of the pesto. Dot the prawns with the remaining pesto.

Prepare a wok for steaming. Set the pie dish into the steamer basket and steam over high heat until the shells are bright pink and the meat is opaque, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the plate from the steamer and serve directly from the pie dish.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

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