It's BC Spot Prawn Season! yay!
The season lasts from May to June and after seeing friends' Spot Prawn pics posted on FB I had a yearning too. I sent the man down to T&T supermarket where they were on sale for $15.99/lb until May 18.
The Spot Prawns were lively in their plastic bag. These guys have pokey antennae and sharp spear-like tails and heads. You have to buy the Spot Prawns with the intent to eat them within a few hours. I kept them in the fridge for an hour before I was ready to prep them. I am squeamish and even with rubber dish gloves to protect me from their sharp pointy bits, I couldn't handle how each prawn would squirm and hop out of my hand. In the end, I held a prawn with tongs in my left hand and worked the scissors in my other hand. It gave me the willies...but I was not deterred enough to stop because I knew these prawns had to be cooked quickly to maintain their freshness. After they die, the prawn flesh becomes mushy...bleh...inedible. When cooked fresh, they have a firm 'n bouncy texture and they're sweet and juicy. They do not require much fuss in terms of cooking.
If you want to eat them quickly, you can either boil or steam them. But I wanted a more substantial meal so I decided to add some aromatics: ginger, scallion, yellow onions and soy.
After cutting off the huge barbed needle-like spear from the top of the head of the Spot Prawn with kitchen scissors, I trimmed off the antennae and legs too. I placed them in a colander and rinsed well and allowed it to drain well. Pat dry.
BC Spot Prawns with Ginger, Scallions & Soy
Ingredients:
2 lbs Live BC Spot Prawns, legs, antennae & sharp bits trimmed (purchase from your fishmonger from May-June)1 bunch green onions (scallions), cut in 2 inch lengths
1/2 small yellow onion, sliced
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled, sliced and smashed
2 tablespoons supreme soy sauce
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons oil for stir-frying
Method:
1. Clean the trimmed prawns and rinse well in a colander. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.2. In a small bowl, combine the soy, wine, sugar and sesame oil
3. Heat a wok or fry pan on high until smoking hot. Add 2 tablespoons oil for frying. Swirl the oil to cover the pan and add the ginger & sliced onions. Stir fry for a minute. Add the white parts of the scallions and continue to stirfry for another minute.
4. Add prawns to the pan and stir fry. Toss in the soy mixture and keep tossing until the prawns start to turn colour. Add the green parts of the scallion and continue to toss until the prawns have curled and look cooked through which shouldn't take more than a couple more minutes.
Do not overcook!
5. Serve!
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