Prawns, Scallops, Cream

Ingredients

1 lb. Prawns, shelled and deveined
4 oz. Scallops, cleaned
2 oz. Butter
2 cloves garlic
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup cream
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. Corn starch
1 tsp. Lemon juice
1 tbsp. Chopped parsley
3 shallots
salt and pepper

Directions

Melt butter in pan, add crushed garlic and cook 1minute.
Add wine and cream and bring to boil, boil rapidly 3 to 4 minutes.
Combine water and corn starch, pour into cream mixture, stir until mixture boils.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Add seafood to sauce and cook 2 minutes, stir in parsley and chopped shallots.

I intend to make this very soon (and ask a friend to enjoy it with me). Will post photos when I have them :)

Curried Prawns

Oh yummo!

I love prawns :D

Tonight's dinner was curried prawns. Same curry preparations that I use for the curried chicken just using prawns instead.

This time though, I processed the prawns so it was really fine throughout the curry, didn't tell the boys about prawns being in it so they ate it without complaint.

Still haven't told them they ate prawns yet hahahahahahaha

Prawn Laksa

Ingredients 200g rice stick noodles (medium thickness) 100g bean shoots, ends trimmed 1 bunch coriander, leaves picked 1 tbs vegetable oil 1/2 cup prepared laksa paste 2 x 270ml cans Woolworths Select Reduced Fat Coconut Cream 3 cups chicken stock 200g snow peas, trimmed 125g Australian Sweet baby corn, halved 1 carrot, sliced 500g green banana prawns, peeled and deveined 2 limes, quartered

Method 1. Place noodles into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 10 minutes until soft. Soak bean shoots and coriander in iced water and set aside. 2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add laksa paste and cook for 2 minutes until aromatic. Stir in coconut cream and stock and bring to the boil. 3. Add snow peas, corn, carrot and prawns and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3 minutes until prawns have changed colour. Divide noodles between serving bowls. Ladle over soup, prawns and vegetables. Top with bean shoots and coriander and serve with a wedge of lime.

Prawns - Storage and Selection

Fresh prawns from the market are mostly likely thawed frozen prawns

Prawns come in a variety of sizes and types. Raw prawns are a green/white-blue colour. When these prawns are cooked, the colour turns in colour from pink to bright orange-red due to a chemical change brought on by heat.

Prawns are normally graded by size and count, meaning the average number of prawns to make a pound weight. The higher the number, the smaller the prawns.

Prawns are highly perishable. Select firm prawns with a mild scent. If there is any hint of the aroma of ammonia, it is a sign the prawns are way past its prime. Some may have spots, an indication of poor handling. Commercially-sold prawns are defrosted, in which case the flesh will appear opaque. Truly fresh prawns will have almost translucent flesh.

Do not confuse the term "fresh" with never-frozen. Truth be told, you probably will be unable to find never-frozen prawns fresh from the ocean these days unless you net them yourself. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Nowadays, prawns are harvested, cleaned, and flash frozen on the boats before they ever reach the shore. This makes for a fresher product, until it reaches the market.

Once it reaches the market, you are at the mercy of the handlers. If it goes right into the freezer, all is well. If you are buying from the seafood counter, there is no telling how long the prawns have been defrosted, although icing it does help. You are better off buying frozen prawns and defrosting them yourself in the refrigerator. It does not take long to defrost.

Cooked prawns can be stored in a sealed bag no more than 3 days in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Both cooked and raw prawns may be frozen, but freezing raw preserves a better flavor. Raw prawns can be frozen with shell or without, but should have the heads removed. Raw frozen prawns will last 6 months in the freezer while frozen cooked prawns should be consumed within 2 months. Commercially-frozen raw prawns will last longer in the freezer without deterioration, since they are flash-frozen fresh with little handling.

Frozen cooked and uncooked prawns should ideally be thawed in the refrigerator in advance of need. They can be added frozen to casseroles and baked dishes. If you need to quickly thaw, you may put the prawns under cold water, not warm. Warm water will begin the cooking process