Tips for making a prawn curry

Here are some quick tips that we hope help you on your prawn curry making adventures.  

Fresh

First up make sure you get some nice fresh prawns.

Frozen is fine. If anything prawns frozen straight from catch are going to taste fresher than those that have sat under the bright lights of a supermarket fish counter. 

If you are buying from a fishmonger or a fish counter ask to smell them - the less fishy the fresher.

Black edges or black spots on the shell can be a sign of quality loss . Tiger prawns naturally have bluish colored shells with black lines between the segments which should not be confused with quality loss.

Colour

Raw prawns start out with grey shells and translucent flesh. 

When cooked, the exterior should be pink with red tails and the flesh slightly opaque and a little “white” in colour. If it is bright white in colour, there’s a good chance the prawns are overcooked. It's tricky to get it just right and it's always best to err on the side of caution but remember your prawns are going to continue to cook after removing from the heat.

Shape

Raw prawns (frozen) start out with just a little curl to their shape. With a little pressure, you can straighten them out. When you cook the prawns they will naturally start to curl.

Some chefs say when they curl into a C shape, they are perfectly cooked. Leave them to cook and they'll continue to curl tighter into an O shape by which time they're overcooked.

So an easy way to remember this tip is that C shaped stands for 'cooked' and O shaped stands for 'overcooked. Boom. 💥

BBQ

Make like an Australian and through them on the barbie or a hot griddle pan and add to your finished sauce. 

Go large

If you're feeling a bit fancy or had a bit of a windfall why not push the boat out and try some langoustines - king prawns on steroids.