Servings: 3-4
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound fresh BC spot prawns
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass, finely chopped
- 2-3 lemongrass stalks (for skewering)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon lime zest, grated
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon red chili, sliced
- 1/3 cup light olive oil
- Lime wedges for garnish
Directions:
Begin by preparing the spot prawns. Take one spot prawn at a time and place it on a cutting board. Pinch the head and the body of the spot prawn with your thumb and index fingers. In one fell swoop, firmly pinch and pull them apart. The spot prawn will die instantly, but its legs and tail may still move around after it is beheaded. That’s OK, it’s just proteins still working in the body. Wait for 5 minutes for all the legs to stop moving. Next peel the shell off gently, aiming to keep the tail still intact. You can keep the heads and shell to make prawn stock and then compost the remainders after use.
Using a mortar and pestle, combine the chopped lemongrass, garlic, lime zest, salt, sugar, and red chili. Pound the ingredients together and mix them until a smooth paste forms. Drizzle in the olive oil and mix until combined.
Add the spot prawn tails to a bowl along with the lemongrass paste. Mix the prawns until they are fully covered in the marinade. Let the prawns marinate for 15 minutes.
While the prawns are marinating, prepare the lemongrass skewers. First slice the lemongrass stalk in half lengthwise (keeping the root end intact), and then slice each half lengthwise again to get 4 long pieces. Next, slice the lemongrass into 10-12 centimeter long pieces to create the skewers. It is best to slice the lemongrass on an angle so that you get a sharper end to thread the prawn onto.
After the prawns have marinated, thread one prawn onto each of the skewers. Gently scrape off some of the marinade as well so that it doesn’t burn on the grill.
Heat a barbeque or an indoor grill over high heat. Once the grill is hot, gently lay each of the skewers onto the grill. Let the prawns grill for 1-2 minutes per side, depending on their size. Once the spot prawns have turned bright orange and are no longer translucent, they are done.
Arrange the skewers nicely on a serving platter and garnish with sliced lime wedges. Serve the spot prawns warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
