How to make melt in your mouth chilli garlic butter prawns
Ok so by now, you may have an idea of how obsessed I am with anything chilli. My last 3 posts have been about chillis in it’s various forms – green chilli pickle, chilli oil & wontons in chilli oil. 🙈
This prawn recipe is a keeper, trust me on this one. The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity. Simple easy to find ingredients and even more easier to prepare. Impress your guests with this delicious recipe, you can thank me later 😄. Serve this topped over a simple pasta or with some crusty bread and salad or simply as a starter for an “oh my god, that looks amazing!!” reaction from your guests.
While this one has chilli, it hits the right spot of warmth from the garlic and chillis and the sweetness of the prawns with the butter to finally wrap it in its gooey deliciousness. You can definitely increase the spice levels should you wish to. If you get the fishmonger to butterfly the prawns for you, it takes under 5-7 minutes or so to prep the dish and another 15 minutes to cook in the oven. Hardly any effort for such a lip-smacking dish. And the pan dripping is liquid gold! If you can resist licking it clean, spoon it over the prawns before serving for extra yumminess or over pasta or dip some crusty bread in it.
I tried two versions with the prawns, pan fried and oven baked. I prefer the oven baked version as with the pan fried version, the garlic & chilli tends to burn faster. For the pan fried version I skewered the prawns to help retain it’s shape while I kept it as is for the oven baked version. I would recommend skewering the prawns as shown in my pics to ensure they do not curl up too much while cooking.
For my version of butterflied prawns, I take out the head and peel away the legs trying to keep the shell intact. Make a sharp incision from the head to the tail on the top side of the prawn (side opposite the legs) ensuring that you cut the meat and not the shell. Discard the intestinal tract or the black/green vein. Press down on the prawn to flatten it so that it now looks like a butterfly.
Chilli Garlic Butter prawns
Ingredients
- 10 butterflied prawns Larger the better
- 4 Tbsp Soft butter Unsalted
- 2 medium sized garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp Red chilli powder
- 1 Tbsp Lime juice
- 2 Tbsp Chopped coriander leaves
- Salt to taste
- 10 bamboo skewers (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c
- Mix all the ingredients except the prawns to a smooth paste
- Skewer the prawns with bamboo skewers and shorten the skewers with scissors so that it fits the baking tray(this is optional). Spoon the mix onto the prawns filling up the centre of the prawn from head to tail
- Lay filling side up on a baking tray and place it in the oven for at least 15 minutes or until cooked
- For the final 1-2 minutes, place it under the broiler to caramelize. Keep a close eye though the garlic will burn quickly.
- Drizzle over the pan drippings and serve hot or warm with an extra squeeze of lime juice and coriander leaves.
