Marinate the prawns in a mixing bowl with ground white pepper, salt and sherry.
Sift the corn starch or potato starch into a mixing bowl. Add in the Chinese five spice powder, paprika powder and salt and mix well with a whisk.
Heat up a non-stick frying pan with some rice bran oil.
Coat each prawn with the flour mixture, shake off any excess flour, and pan-fry for 2 minutes on each side or until lightly golden brown on medium to low heat. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper towel. Repeat the same process in 3 batches until all the prawns are cooked.