Just a point to add to the good stuff posted. Yes they are tiger prawns (which are not crayfish - sorry Paul, crayfish are a totally different beast) and invariably they are fresh water - which is what the restaurants use (see later point). As KP says they come in various sizes and various packaging. They are also frozen in different ways; Blast frozen, water ice frozen (covered in ice), or in solid blocks of ice in a box. The first two types are mostly used because it is easier to defrost (if need be) and portion up, whereas with the block frozen ones they all have to be all defrosted first which means they all have to be used in service within a day or two.
Now the main issue is that there are potential serious health risks with all of these prawns, the main one being that they are farmed and therefore run all sorts of breeding risks as well as pollution effects. The frozen block type have an even more potential danger, in that the water used to freeze them in is often pumped from the local harbour which is often full of sewerage!!!! These mainly come from the Indian sub-continent. Salt water prawns are expensive and have to be stored in fresh water to clean them prior to freeze and ship, so are rarely used in BIRs and Chinese.
So beware and make sure the source of the prawns is clearly defined and also production and freezing methods are defined. Use headless loose blast frozen tiger prawns or water ice; the latter can work out more expensive by weight after defrosting and also you can not see the state of the prawns and I have had many rotten ones!
Let the prawns defrost naturally in ambient or fridge temperatures. When they have defrosted wash them thoroughly and leave then to soak for about 30 minutes in salt water.
Shake off the water and shell them, and as has been said make sure you remove the intestine from the back even if it does not appear to have any crap in it - very important. I personally would not reccomend any salt as this toughens the meat.
If you want a butterfly prawn variation try this. Remove head if needs be and split the shell along the back all the way down but don't go all the way through the shell (leg side), i.e. prepare as you would do a lobster. Open up along the back and press down gently and you should end up with two halves (mirror image) joined along the shell at the leg line like a reverse spatch-cock. Remove the intestine and any goo around the head end. Now skewer them with toothpicks to keep them open. Toss them into your pan with your sauce or whatever and cook as normal. Alternatively you can coat them with a marinade first and then sizzle/BBQ them also. This is a very popular method used abroad and it preserves the flavour and texture of the prawns so much better.
Happy Prawning
CP
Topic: King Prawns ( 8,143 )
