Seafood is delicious, and there is nothing better than eating its hot version during the cold winter. However, cooking seafood can be a bit intimidating, thankfully grilled prawns break this stereotype.
Of course, there are hundreds of prawns recipes, but the best one without a doubt is the famous grilled prawns from Andalusia.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this coastal area rich in marine fauna has the best seafood dishes.
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Keep scrolling down this article as you’ll learn how to cook prawns, a little bit more about its history, and some key tips and tricks on how to store and serve this amazing seafood meal.
Background of the Dish
Throughout the world, there are all kinds of recipes with prawns, so it is more than likely that you already know a few seafood meals. However, this recipe is a classic from southern Spain.
In Andalusia, there are different variants of recipes with prawns and shrimp, which can be with garlic, or pil pil, but in this case, you will get to know a more classic recipe, that is perfect for Christmas eve dinner ideas.
This recipe for grilled prawns, marinated in a special sauce, was created in southern Spain when trade with the Arab countries began, which is why it has so many spices.
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Things You’ll Need for Grilled Prawns
To make this recipe the only main ingredient is the prawns, and the best part is that you can use any type, or even turn this recipe into grilled tiger prawns.
The other ingredients are completely replaceable, and when it comes to the equipment the only necessary one is a saucepan and a bowl, so anyone can do it.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) prawns
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch ground cayenne
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) Flour
- Salt
How to Make Grilled Prawns – Step by Step Guide
- To start with this prawns recipe, the first thing you have to do is to grab a large bowl and mix paprika, cayenne, minced garlic cloves, soy sauce, honey, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and salt. Mix everything well.
- Now is the time to start working on the prawns. Peel them, even though you can skip that part if you buy them peeled. Then place them in a bowl with the mixture of the first step and marinate them for one hour or more.
- After that, drain the prawns and save the leftover sauce. Cover the prawns lightly in flour, but not too much or you’ll get some lumps of raw flour on your prawns.
- Heat the grill or a cast iron pan until very hot, put the prawns on the grill and cook the prawns until they are slightly brown on each side.
- If you are doing them in the pan, put a tablespoon of sesame oil, sauté them and add a little more oil when you see that they are drying. It should take 2 minutes per side for them to cook, and then add the remaining sauce and mix for one more minute.
- Once you are ready to serve, sprinkle some salt on top if necessary.
Substitution of Ingredients
The grilled prawns’ recipe stands out from other easy seafood recipes since the cooking time is really low and the part that takes the most time of this recipe is the marinating.
Although it only calls for a few main ingredients, you can look for other seafood recipe ideas, and add other seafood such as clams, squid, lobster tails, or scallops.
Try the Spanish scallops with garlic recipe if you like scallops and Spanish cuisine.
For example, you can take ideas from the grilled Spanish mackerel and add some lemon wedges to the marinating step of the recipe.
If you are looking for more winter recipes to improve your cooking skills during this holiday season, then I recommend you try and make other Andalusian recipes.
The Christmas turkey from Spain, Picadillo soup recipe, roast suckling pig, and the wonderful baked lamb are recipes you need to try.
For the Christmas dinner, you can also prepare some Spanish clams, especially if you want something special and different for Christmas.
And the Spanish clams with chorizo are worth trying as well.
Tips on Serving Grilled Prawns
The grilled prawns’ recipe is a classic for Christmas eve dinner, but you can enjoy them any day of the year and at any time.
They are the perfect traditional Christmas eve dinner dish because you can put all of them in a large bowl on the table and let everyone grab as much as they want.
The other option would be to serve it in a small amount on a tiny deep plate, either way, it’s a delicious and simple Spanish Christmas food idea.
How to Store Grilled Prawns
As well as other seafood dishes, the grilled prawns don’t freeze well once you cook them, so the best thing you can do is to cook them the same day as you are eating them.
Keep in mind that the cooking and preparing time of this recipe takes less than 20 minutes, so making them the same day shouldn’t be a problem.
However, if you need more time then you can let them marinate overnight, or during the day and turn this into a seafood recipe for dinner.
You can also store them in the fridge for up to 4 days after making them, so they are truly the perfect seafood Christmas dinner dish.
Recipe Card: Grilled Prawns
Grilled Prawns Recipe
Seafood is delicious, and there is nothing better than eating its hot version during the cold winter.
However, cooking seafood can be a bit intimidating, thankfully grilled prawns break this stereotype.
Of course, there are hundreds of prawns recipes, but the best one without a doubt is the famous grilled prawns from Andalusia.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) prawns
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch ground cayenne
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) Flour
- Salt
Instructions
- To start with this prawns recipe, the first thing you have to do is to grab a large bowl and mix paprika, cayenne, minced garlic cloves, soy sauce, honey, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, and salt. Mix everything well.
- Now is the time to start working on the prawns. Peel them, even though you can skip that part if you buy them peeled. Then place them in a bowl with the mixture of the first step and marinate them for one hour or more.
- After that, drain the prawns and save the leftover sauce. Cover the prawns lightly in flour, but not too much or you'll get some lumps of raw flour on your prawns.
- Heat the grill or a cast iron pan until very hot, put the prawns on the grill, and cook the prawns until they are slightly brown on each side.
- If you are doing them in the pan, put a tablespoon of sesame oil, sauté them and add a little more oil when you see that they are drying. It should take 2 minutes per side for them to cook, and then add the remaining sauce and mix for one more minute.
- Once you are ready to serve, sprinkle some salt on top if necessary.
Notes
You can look for inspiration in other spicy shrimp recipes, and add all sorts of spices. For example, you can add chili flakes, black pepper, etc.
To make the marinade for shrimp, you can also add 2 tablespoons of bbq and you'll have a smokey flavor, similar to the classic bbq shrimp.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 208Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 354mgSodium 977mgCarbohydrates 6gFiber 1gProtein 42g
Hola, I’m Paulina! Together with my team, we are passionate about Southern Spain. Here we share all you need to know for great times in Southern Spain with the best places to visit, stay and, of course, the best food to eat.
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