Topic: King Prawns

[Vinda looo]

I cant seem to find the right king prawns that the restaurants use. Do you have to get them from specialist suppliers because they dont sell them in any of my local supermarkets. I dont want to use the chinese type king prawns but thats all what they seem to sell.  Any advice gratefully accepted

[haldi]

I've seen these cooked
They are frozen but raw
I don't know what make they are, but it's not a large "catering" bag used
They go in the deep pan fryer for two/three minutes then are added to the curry
Totally different flavour to ordinairy prawns, aren't they?

[spicysarsy]

Hi Vindalooo, I know my wholesale Asian Supermarket where I live in South Shields sell 3 types of prawn/shrimp. The smallest is the type you would normally find in a bhuna prawn on puri starter dish. The irony is the fact they are shrimps not prawns. The next size is your standard prawn used in Indian and Chinese dishes. The last is the Tiger Prawn which is a fresh water type of lobster called a Crayfish. And are normally cut in half legnthwise. And unless you pre-salt them {sea- salt } before frying they do taste quite bland. The only advice regarding purchasing is to see if there is a local seafood wholesaler in your area. Paul 

[Cory Ander]

....the last is the Tiger Prawn which is a fresh water type of lobster called a Crayfish.....

Sheesh Spicey!     You wanna check that out again! 

Regards,  ;D

[King Prawn]

Look in the freezers in Indian shops. They come in boxes and inside is a plastic bag with a lot of ice and a few prawns.
They come in different sizes and if you want the largest look for U5 on the box. This means 'under 5 prawns to the pound'. The next smallest is 6/8.
Buy them headless if you can, it will save a little time in preparation.
Always devein them unless you like to get ill
Around here a box is 14quid. For that you get between 9 and 12 prawns.
Make sure they are from india or bangladesh, not asian ones as they are a different variety.

I hope this helps

I hope to post my Tandoori King Prawn sizzler recipe soon. It's as good as what you get in the restaurants and costs a lot less.


KP(V)

[Chilli Prawn]

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

[spicysarsy]

  Thanks for the pointer Chilli. [ Life is just one education }.

[Cory Ander]

....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).... 

Hmmmm, interesting!   

I thought that tiger prawns and lobsters are (different types of) marine crustaceans and that crayfish are fresh-water crustaceans (closely related to lobsters). 

Furthermore, just to add to the confusion, Australians call lobsters crayfish!   

Incidentally, lobsters ("crayfish") cost about 6 quid each and king prawns cost about 6 - 12 quid a kilo (depending on their size of course) in Australia     

Ha!  Who really cares anyway, they all taste superb!.....IF you can afford them! 

[Cory Ander]

I cant seem to find the right king prawns that the restaurants use. Do you have to get them from specialist suppliers because they dont sell them in any of my local supermarkets. I dont want to use the chinese type king prawns but thats all what they seem to sell.  Any advice gratefully accepted

Hi Vindaloo,

What do you think is special about the king prawns that restaurants use?  By "Chinese type king prawns", do you mean the ones that Chinese restaurants use?  Aren't they anyway the same?  Aren't they just prepared/cooked differently?  Why don't you want you use them? 

Personally, I simply use the best quality "king" prawns that I can find and afford, whatever the variety (of which there are many!)!

The two things I'd suggest are:

• soak them in salted water (use any salt) for a while before cooking (as SA and CP suggest)
• take care not to overcook them...just until they change colour thoughout...othewise they will become rubbery (that's "rubbery" not "ruverry"!  )....5 to 10 minutes or so, only, should suffice

Regards,

[Chilli Prawn]

Nice one Cory. Yes Crayfish invariably live in freshwater but there are salt water types also that look like lobsters but have no claws.  We used to buy them in the Emirates fresh so I guess they are probably a Gulf thing.