IMPRESS THE GUESTS! NINE GREAT WAYS TO COOK PRAWNS THIS XMAS
Nothing says Xmas lunch more than prawns! Succulent and juicy prawns, paired with a zesty cocktail sauce or a squeeze of lemon, are always a family favourite. But if you are the mood to get creative, how about prawn toast? Or crispy honey prawns, laksa or even prawn tacos? Here are nine great prawn recipes which are easy to cook and sure the impress the guests!
CRISPY HONEY KING PRAWNS
Ingredients:
16 green king prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact.
Prawn marinade:
2 egg whites lightly whisked.
1½ tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1½ tablespoons fish sauce
Coating:
¾ cup plain flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt flakes
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Sauce:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
6 green onions, white part cut into 2cm lengths, green part finely sliced and kept aside for garnish.
1 large, long red chilli seeded and finely sliced.
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
½ cup chicken stock or water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornflour
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds to garnis
Method:
Place the prawns in a large bowl with all the marinade ingredients. Mix well and set aside to marinate for 10 – 20 minutes.
In separate bowl, combine the soy sauce, stock, lemon juice and dissolve in the cornflour.
Mix the coating ingredients together and place into a large bowl or on a plate.
Toss the prawns in the coating leaving plenty of the marinade attached so the flour sticks. well to the prawns and forms a rough coating.
Pre-heat oil in a wok to 180°C. Fry prawns in batches, cooking each batch for 2-3 minutes, until golden. Drain, and transfer to a rack.
In a clean wok or deep-frying pan, heat oil and cook the white part of the green onions and sliced chilli for about 2 minutes. Add the honey, then the soy sauce, stock, lemon juice and cornflour mixture, stirring well and cook until the sauce has thickened. Add the prawns and toss until coated.
Serve on a platter sprinkled with the sesame seeds and the sliced green onion tops.
PRAWN & AVOCADO TACOS
Ingredients:
1 baby cos lettuce, finely shredded.
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked and chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, diced.
2 avocados, diced.
1 Lebanese cucumber, diced.
3 green onions, finely sliced.
3 red radishes, cut into thin matchsticks.
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
18 small soft wheat tortillas
36 green prawns, peeled and deveined.
50ml vegetable oil
200ml crème fraîche or sour cream, thinned with a little buttermilk or lime juice.
100g pickled jalapeño chillies
Salsa Verde:
200g drained canned tomatillos.
1 green jalapeño chilli
1 green habanero chilli
2 cloves garlic, peeled.
½ cup coriander leaves
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt flakes, to taste
Salsa Roja:
5 Roma tomatoes, halved
1 large red onion, halved
5 cloves garlic (unpeeled)
2 red serrano chillies, halved
Vegetable oil, for drizzling
Salt flakes, to taste
½ bunch coriander, leaves picked
Method:
Make Salsa Verde: pulse all ingredients in a food processor to form a coarse paste.
Make Salsa Roja: preheat oven to 250ºC. Drizzle tomato, onion, garlic and chillies with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast for about 30 minutes, until well coloured, turning occasionally and removing the chillies if they start to char. Peel and seed tomatoes, peel onion, squeeze garlic from skins and process to a smooth paste in a food processor with chillies, coriander and salt.
Combine lettuce, coriander, tomato, avocado, cucumber, green onion, radish, salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 180°C and heat a barbecue or char-grill plate.
Wrap tortillas in groups of 6 in aluminium foil and place in the oven for 5-10 minutes to warm through. Meanwhile, toss prawns in oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill for 1-2 minutes each side, until just cooked through.
Spread some Salsa Verde and Salsa Roja on a tortilla, add prawns, salad, crème fraîche and jalapeños, wrap and eat.
SATAY UDANG (PRAWN SATAY)
Ingredients:
18 large green prawns, peeled and deveined.
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into batons.
2 spring onions, quartered.
¼ pineapple, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Satay Udang Paste:
2 tablespoons ground coriander
4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed.
10 red shallots, peeled and sliced (see notes)
1 stalk lemongrass, white only finely sliced.
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 medium red chillies, chopped.
1 teaspoon grated fresh turmeric.
1 tablespoon dark palm sugar
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
1½ tablespoons kecap manis
½ teaspoon belacan, toasted
½ cup peanut oil
1 lime, juiced.
Method:
Make Satay Udang Paste: combine all ingredients to a fine paste in a food processor. Pour into a bowl, add prawns, mix well, cover and set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat a barbecue or char-grill plate.
Push a bamboo skewer through each prawn, lengthways from the tail end.
Cook prawns for about 2 minutes each side, until just cooked through. Arrange on a platter with cucumber, spring onion and pineapple.
STIR-FRIED PRAWNS WITH RED CAPSICUM & BROCCOLINI
Ingredients:
500g broccolini
2 cloves garlic, crushed.
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
750g green Prawns, peeled and deveined.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red onion, peeled and cut into eighths.
1 red capsicum seeded and thinly sliced.
Steamed rice, to serve.
Method:
Trim the ends off the broccolini stalks, cut into florets and slice stalks on the diagonal.
Combine garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil in a large bowl and mix well. Add prawns and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat a wok over high heat. Add oil, onion, capsicum and broccolini and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove vegetables and set aside. Add prawns to wok, reserving marinade and stir-fry for about 1 minute, until they just change colour. Return vegetables to wok, add reserved marinade, and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils and thickens.
STEAMED TIGER PRAWNS WITH CHINESE RICE WINE, GINGER & GREEN ONIONS
Ingredients:
12 x 60g green Tiger Prawns
150ml Shaoxing (see notes)
50ml yellow bean sauce
100g young ginger, cut into thin matchsticks.
75ml peanut oil
40ml sesame oil
½ bunch green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
Freshly ground white peppercorns, to taste
Steamed jasmine rice, for serving.
Method:
Leaving the shell and heads on, cut the prawns down the back and remove the dark vein, leaving any orange roe inside the prawns.
Half fill a wok or large saucepan with water and bring to the boil.
Place prawns in a dish with Shaoxing, yellow bean sauce and half the ginger. Place in a steamer basket. Place steamer over wok or saucepan, cover, and steam for a few minutes, until prawn shells turn orange; the prawn flesh should still be slightly glassy.
Place prawns on a heat-proof serving platter with a little of the steaming liquid. Top with green onion and remaining ginger and sprinkle with pepper.
Combine peanut oil and sesame oil in a small saucepan and heat until smoking. Immediately (and carefully) pour it over the prawns, which will sizzle.
Serve with rice.
PRAWN TOAST
Ingredients:
1.2kg green Prawns, peeled, deveined, and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon salt flakes
9 slices sliced white bread.
½ cup sesame seeds
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Chilli sauce, for serving.
METHOD:
Put Prawns, ginger and salt into a food processor and process to a coarse mince.
Divide between the slices of bread, spreading it to the edges and gently pressing it on to the bread. Cut crusts from bread and cut each slice in half, giving 2 rectangles. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, gently pressing them on.
Heat oil in a wok or deep fryer to 180°C.
Deep-fry bread, in batches, paste side down, for a minute or so, until golden, then turn and deep-fry the other side for a further minute or so. Drain on paper towel.
Cut each piece in half on the diagonal and serve with chilli sauce.
LAKSA LEMAK WITH PRAWNS
Ingredients:
¾ cup vegetable oil
1 litre chicken stock
500ml coconut milk
300g fish balls
18 medium green Prawns peeled and deveined.
200g flat rice noodles, soaked in boiling water 10-15 minutes, until soft
6 deep-fried tofu puffs, shredded.
4 green onions thinly sliced diagonally.
1 cup bean sprouts, tailed.
2 limes, juiced.
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 bunch Vietnamese mint, to serve.
1 bunch coriander, to serve.
1 Lebanese cucumber deseeded and shredded.
Sambal oelek, to serve (see notes)
1½ limes, extra, to serve.
Laksa Paste
2 red onions roughly chopped.
2 stalks lemongrass (white part only) finely sliced.
8 candlenuts
4 cloves garlic
2.5cm piece galangal, grated
1 tablespoon grated turmeric
8 dried long red chillies, deseeded, chopped and soaked.
½ tablespoon belacan (see notes)
2 tablespoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon salt
Method:
Make Laksa Paste: process all ingredients into a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a wok. Add Laksa Paste and fry for 5-10 minutes, until oil floats to the top and it smells aromatic. Add chicken stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fish balls, simmer for 2 minutes then add Prawns, increase heat, and return to the boil then remove from heat. Cover to keep warm.
Divide drained rice noodles between 6 deep bowls, add tofu, green onions, and bean sprouts. Stir half the lime juice and fish sauce through the soup, taste and add more if needed. Ladle soup into bowls and top with Vietnamese mint, coriander, cucumber, sambal oelek and lime wedges.
PRAWN BISQUE
Ingredients:
50g butter
1 red onion, chopped.
500g green prawn shells
¼ cup plain flour
400g canned tomatoes, drained and chopped.
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
1 litre chicken stock or water
½ cup cream
Salt flakes & freshly grounds white pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon brandy
Chervil leaves, for garnishing
Method:
Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat and cook onion until soft but not coloured. Add prawn heads and fry until they turn red, crushing them with a meat mallet or wooden spoon as they are frying; crush well to extract as much flavour as possible.
Add flour and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until flour is cooked out. Reduce heat. Add tomatoes and tomatoes paste and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, until tomatoes break down. Add wine and stir until boiling. Add stock and return to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Strain, pushing through a fine sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Return the liquid to a clean saucepan, add cream and simmer to heat through. Taste, stir through salt, pepper and brandy and serve garnished with chervil.
HOT & SOUR SEAFOOD SOUP
Ingredients:
¼ cup vegetable oil
500g green prawns, peeled and deveined, shells reserved.
1½ litres water
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised.
6 thin slices galangal
3 kaffir lime leaves, crushed (see notes)
10 scud chillies, bruised.
⅓ cup tamarind liquid (see notes)
100g oyster mushrooms
1 tomato, cut into wedges.
3 green onions, finely sliced on the diagonal.
200g Teraglin fillets, skin off, bones removed, cut into bite-sized pieces.
250g Blue Mussels, scrubbed and debearded.
1 lime, juiced, to taste.
2 tablespoons fish sauce, to taste.
¼ cup coriander leaves
METHOD:
Heat oil in saucepan, add prawn heads and shells and cook, crushing often with the back of a wooden spoon for 5 minutes.
Place water, lemongrass, prawn shells and the cooking oil into a large saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding solids. Add galangal, kaffir lime leaves and chillies and simmer for a couple of minutes then add tamarind liquid, mushrooms, tomato, green onion, prawns, fish, and mussels and cook for a few minutes until mussels open.
Remove from heat, stir in lime juice, and fish sauce, taste and add more lime juice or fish sauce to taste. Add coriander and serve.
Recipes courtesy of Sydney Fish Market. Don't miss their famous 36-Hour Seafood Marathon from 5am on the December 23 to 5pm on Christmas Eve.
