Andrew Wood
Prawns are as Australian as football, meat pies, kangaroos and… Any Aussie kid who has ever been fishing with his dad has threaded a half–frozen prawn on to his hook. Paul Hogan introduced millions of Americans to Australia by offering to toss one on the barbie. The word itself has entered our language as a gentle form of insult—try telling an overseas visitor not to come the raw prawn! Four decades ago, Barry Humphries sang about a bucket of prawns, ice cold beer and the resulting technicolour yawn in the old Pacific Sea. You just can’t escape them.
The crustacea family (of which prawns belong to) is one of the most successful of all animal groups on the planet. They dominate the sea much as insects dominate the land. There are around 26 000 different species, of which about 2000 are types of prawns. Crustacea range from microscopic creatures to larger invertebrates such as the spider crab with its leg span of almost four metres. Crabs, lobsters, krill (whales’ favourite food) and even wood lice are all different types of crustacea.
Prawn or shrimp? What’s in a name? There is no scientific reason to differentiate between the two and it does seem to be a simple matter of different places preferring to use different names. Americans, in general, call them shrimp, but do refer to some of the larger, specific examples as prawns. It seems that the term shrimp comes from the old English word, scrimman, meaning to shrink. The word prawn is of unknown origins.
Prawns are, of course, not exclusive to the waters surrounding Australia. Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, the Mediterranean, the southern part of the United States, numerous countries throughout South America and many other places all have extensive prawning industries.
Some prawns are better known to us than others though they will often sport different names in different regions. Western kings, eastern kings, red spot kings, white bananas, red bananas, Indian bananas, panda prawns, all manner of tigers—brown, black, grooved, green, blue, common, northern, giant and jumbo—greasybacks, a range of endeavours, river prawns, bay prawns, school prawns, harbour prawns, Vincent Gulf, freshwater, pink–grooved, brown–grooved, triple–grooved, mud, leader, greentail, coral, rainbow, royal red are but a handful. Green prawns are not a separate species, but indicate that the prawns in question are still raw.
The king prawn is our most popular prawn and very much in demand for export. Large examples are often called ocean kings and can grow to thirty centimetres in length. They are of medium to firm texture, moist, of medium flavour with low oiliness. The flesh and roe can both be eaten and the head and shell are included in a number of Asian dishes.
Tigers are easily recognisable due to their distinctive stripes, and are smaller than kings. Both command high prices and can be used similarly in the kitchen, though tigers are especially popular for grilling and barbeques. The bigger tigers are keenly sought in Japan where they are considered a delicacy and often eaten live or used in tempura. In reality, there is not a great deal of difference in flavour between tigers and kings.
Banana prawns are normally a little less expensive and have a milder, sweeter flavour. They are well suited to spicy Asian cuisine. They came to prominence in the late sixties with the discovery of the prolific grounds of the Gulf of Carpentaria. However, an increasingly larger amount of banana prawns available in Australia are imported from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and New Guinea.
Offshore prawn trawling has only been in operation for over sixty years. It commenced after the almost accidental discovery that most prawns reach their maximum size in deep waters and that, until then, catches were only of the juveniles passing through the estuaries and inshore areas. Similar discoveries were not made in the United States for another decade. It was only forty years ago that the royal red prawn, so commercially valuable in other parts of the world, was discovered off the coast of New South Wales.
Although prawners talk of catches dropping, a trawler can net enormous quantities in a day, sometimes in excess of twenty-five tonnes. Spotter aircraft are sometimes used; they look for the famous ‘mud boils’. This is when prawns congregate in huge numbers, often to spawn.
The two basic methods of trawling are the beam and the otter. Beam trawling involves towing a net with the mouth held open by a rigid frame. It is mostly used for catching bait prawns and banana prawns. Otter trawling consists of a number of flexible trawl nets connected to large steel sleds. They are dragged slowly across the seabed, where king and tiger prawns spend most of their time. Both types will have turtle excluder devices attached. These are not perfect but have greatly reduced the number of turtles and other marine creatures that are caught during prawning. Set pocket nets are also used in estuaries for banana prawns.
With ever increasing costs and decreasing stocks, prawn farming has become a viable option. Tiger prawns, in particular, are showing real potential. The Australian prawn farming industry now produces more than 4000 tonnes (2009) annually with a farm gate value estimated to be in excess of $70 million. The Australian industry is one of the smaller volumetric producers in the world but leads the world in productivity with an average yield of more than 8,000 kg per hectare. Prawn farming is now one of the largest aquaculture sectors in Australia behind tuna and salmon.
Coastal dwellers are fortunate to have reasonably easy access to good quality prawns. If fresh prawns are not available (or are not of the highest quality), frozen prawns can be a viable option. These should be frozen green prawns, not frozen cooked prawns. When buying prawns, make sure that there is no discolouration around the legs and the edges of the segments of the body. Shells should be glossy and undamaged. Eyes should be shiny and black. If the eyes are missing or shrunken, it is likely that the prawn has been frozen. They must smell fresh and of the sea, whether cooked or green. Any whiff of ammonia is to be avoided.
For purists who prefer live prawns—apart from going prawning yourself—it is possible to buy prawns live. The Sydney Fish Market has several retailers who stock live prawns as do some of the better Asian grocers. When buying live prawns, put them in a container of fresh water for ten to twenty minutes. This allows them to expel any sand they may have ingested and will subdue them before cooking.
Cooking prawns should be simplicity itself, though in reality, the different methods and possibilities are limited only by your imagination: grill, barbecue, steam, sauté, deep fry, stir–fry, serve in salads, use them as cocktail food; the options are endless. Even the dreaded prawn cocktail, when properly made, can be a cracker of a dish (especially when served with a very good bottle of Champagne!).
Like all seafood, prawns must not be overcooked. As soon as the flesh turns from translucent to opaque white they are cooked. Larger prawns may need to be deveined prior to cooking: the dark intestinal cord that runs along the length of the back is removed. The easiest way to do this, after shelling, is to run a sharp knife along the back exposing the blue/black vein which then can be gently drawn out.
Prawns are so versatile it is pointless declaring any recipe superior to another. Simply boiled and served with lemon and black pepper is always a winner. So too are the following.
Prawn Dumplings
These dumplings are known as har gao in China. The dough becomes translucent when steamed. Cook the dumplings immediately after rolling out the dough otherwise they will dry out quickly and become tough.
700g raw prawns, peeled and de-veined (to make 350 g/11 oz)
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon shaved palm sugar
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
dough
375g wheat starch
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
250 ml boiling water
Dice two-thirds of the prawns into a fine mince. Roughly chop the remaining prawns then combine both in a bowl with the spring onions, palm sugar, soy, fish sauce and sesame oil. Mix well and set aside.
Sift the wheat starch and cornflour into a mixing bowl. Add the boiling water and stir the mixture with chopsticks until it is cool enough to touch. Mix it with your fingers until well combined—it should have the consistency of light dough. Adjust with a little more wheat starch or water if necessary. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until soft and pliable. Let it stand, covered, for ten minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a bamboo steamer and drain any excess liquid from the filling mixture.
Divide the dough into even balls. Take one ball and place it between two sheets of greaseproof paper. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a thin disc. Remove the top sheet of paper and place two teaspoons of filling into the centre of the disc. Dip a finger in water and run it around one side of the disc. Fold the other side over and pinch the edges together to seal (the dumpling should look like a half-moon). Flatten the bottom of the dumpling by gently pressing it down on the bench so it will stand upright in the steamer. Place it into the prepared steamer while you make the remaining dumplings. Steam the dumplings until the skins are translucent. Serve them with XO or chilli sauce.
Prawn Cocktail
There is a reason why the prawn cocktail is a classic: when done properly it is a thing of pure beauty.
150g iceberg lettuce, outer leaves and core removed, finely shredded
1 lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
16 large cooked king prawns, peeled, tails intact and intestinal tracts removed
Cocktail Sauce
140 ml thick good-quality mayonnaise
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp finely grated fresh horseradish
pinch of cayenne pepper
dash of tabasco sauce
For the sauce, combine all the ingredients and season to taste with sea salt and ground black pepper. Lightly dress the lettuce with lemon, olive oil, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Divide the lettuce among four cocktail glasses and top with prawns. Place a generous dollop of sauce on top.
Chilli Prawns
For the maximum amount of flavour serve the prawns whole with the shells on. It may be messy having to peel them at the table (have fingerbowls on hand), but the extra degree of flavour from cooking the prawns shell on, is worth it.
16 raw king or tiger prawns
1 tbspn oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 tbspn light soy sauce
1 tbspn rice wine
1 tbspn red chilli paste
1 tspn sugar
1 tspn clear rice vinegar
2 spring onions finely chopped
coriander leaves
Pull off the legs from the prawns, but leave the body shells on. Combine all the marinade ingredients together and coat the prawns thoroughly. Heat the wok to smoking point. Toss in the prawns and cook until the prawns change colour and are spring to touch (it should take no longer than two or three minutes). Garnish with spring onion and coriander and serve immediately.
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