Tag: prawns

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Is it okay to eat Tiger Prawns?


I quite like eating tiger prawns.

Prawns

However after reading this (slightly old) article in the Guardian, now I am not so sure…

The article starts on a positive note…

Something happened to prawns in the 1990s. Like the girths of western gourmands discovering fusion food, they started to grow and grow. Once a mere shrimp of a thing, a fiddly heap of shell for every tiny mouthful, the prawn miraculously turned into a great tiger, an effortless bite as good as lobster but at half the price.

Evidence of this startling evolution is everywhere. Prawns feature prominently on bar menus and in top restaurants. Thai spiced prawns have even infiltrated Delia’s Summer Collection cookbook. Healthy and fashionably south-east Asian, but not too exotic or rare any more, they have flown into our lives from apparently teeming tropical seas where everything grows bigger and better.

But then issues the following warning!

The price of providing an everyday luxury for consumers in industrialised countries has been a catalogue of damaging consequences in developing nations. Serious environmental degradation, disease, pollution, debt and dispossession, illegal land seizures, abuse of child labour and violence have afflicted the dozen or so countries entering the market. Western diners, meanwhile, are eating a food dependent on the heavy use of antibiotics and growth hormones.

Hmmm, may now need to reconsider what prawns I buy and eat – difficult to do when eating out!

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Cajun Prawns

I made this dish as part of a tapas selection. The key is to make the sauce and add the prawns at the last minute.

In a frying pan, soften some onions, after they have softened add some Cajun spices. I don’t like adding the spices too early as they can burn.

Add some chopped tomatoes and some tomato puree.

Cook for a while.

Add raw prawns and let them cook.

When they are firm and pink they are cooked, be careful not to overcook them, as this will make them rubbery.

Cajun Prawns

Done.

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Paella

Tonight I cooked (my version of) paella.

In a large frying pan, add some olive oil and butter.

Soften some onion (I used a normal and a red onion) and some red pepper. I also added some lemon zest.

Arborio Risotto RiceAdd some arborio risotto rice.

Ensure that the rice is coated in the oil, butter, onion and peppers.

At this point add some white wine, however I didn’t do this as I had no white wine.

Add some saffron, this will add colour and flavour.

Now add some chicken stock to cover the rice.

Stir.

As the rice cooks, add more chicken stock to ensure that it doesn’t dry out. The rice will take about fifteen to twenty minutes to cook.

A few minutes before serving, add the raw prawns and squid. They will cook quite quickly in the hot pan.

Before serving add the cooked lobster and wedges of lemon.

Obviously you could use alternative ingredients, such as chicken or mussels. I used lobster as I had got one from a local supermarket for just £2.99, it’s normally a lot more expensive!