Mexican Prawns
Mexican Prawns are a quick and easy recipe. With a zesty fresh sauce, fast cook time and succulent juicy prawns we whip up this fast dinner.
Servings: 4
Calories: 20kcal
Ingredients
- 4 limes zested and juiced, we then measure and use ¼ cup of zest and ¼ cup of lime juice for the marinade, Note 1
- 1 kg/ 2.2 pounds prawns (shrimp) Note 2
- ½ cup/125 ml cup olive oil Note 3
- ⅓ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves trimmed from stems, finely chopped with kitchen scissors
- ¼ cup lime zest This is from the 4 limes above, we want a specific measured amount
- ¼ cup/60 ml lime juice This is from the 4 limes above, we want a specific measured amount
- 2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried coriander (cilantro)
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Garnish (optional):
- limes cut into wedges
- rice Jasmine, Basmati or Basmati Fried Rice
- coriander (cilantro) chopped leaves
Instructions
- Limes: use a microplane zester and chopping board to zest the limes. Then transfer the zest into a small bowl, we need ¼ cup. Then use a knife to slice the limes in halves and juice these. Pour that into a bowl, we need a ¼ cup of lime juice also.
- Prawns: start by twisting and removing the heads from the prawns, then pull their tails off and remove the shells. Then use a sharp knife down the back of each one, make a cut and then remove the digestive tract and discard. You can then rinse the prepared prawns and use paper towel to pat them dry.
- Marinade: gather the marinade ingredients and then add the olive oil, chopped coriander, lime zest, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, dried coriander, chilli powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper to a small jug and use a fork to whisk to combine.
- Combine: add the prawns to a medium sized bowl. Then pour the marinade over the top and use a pair of kitchen scissors to stir and cover the prawns with the Mexican sauce.
- Cook: place a large heavy base saute pan on the stove top and turn the heat to high. Tip the contents of the bowl into the pan and cook the prawns. Use a wooden spoon to stir and rotate them during this time.
- To serve: once the prawns are cooked, portion them into bowls with hot rice, lime wedges and chopped coriander.
Notes
- Note 1 - Limes: this beautiful bright green citrus fruit is an absolute pleasure to cook with. We use both its skin (zested) and its liquids (juiced) for the prawn marinade. We use a measured amount of ¼ cup of each the zest and the juice (60 ml).
- Note 2 - Prawns: we want to use fresh prawns that we peel and devein ourselves. The reward from this work is the juicy succulent and flavor packed seafood that practically melts in our mouths.
- Note 3 - Olive oil: the olive oil helps to bring all of the marinade ingredients together as opposed to it being a dry wet rub. Using this in the marinade also means that we don't need to add extra oil to the pan when we are cooking the prawns.
- Note 4 - Cilantro: also known as fresh coriander. We want to use kitchen scissor to remove the leaves from the stems and then a glass to finely chop them. Thes go into the marinade making for a flavoursome zesty sauce.
- Note 5 - Garlic powder: an excellent pantry staple that is handy to have at all times. It can, however, dry out if in the cupboard but not used for a while, so check the bottle before heading to the shops.
- Note 6 - Onion powder: as above and a complementary pairing with the garlic powder. This is excellent to have in the cupboard.
- Note 7 - Dried coriander: also known as dried cilantro. As much as we are also using the fresh herb, we use a little of this in the marinade as another means of adding a depth of flavour.
- Note 8 - Chilli powder: they wouldn't be Mexican prawns without this 😂👌. That being said, I pull this dried spice back a little as to not make the prawns too overwhelming spicy. Flavoursome yes, need to drink a liter of water after each one, no.
- Note 9 - Cumin: an aromatic spice the packs a little punch. We only need to use a small amount of this for it to go a long way.
- Note 10 - Paprika: bright and bold in vibrant colour. This dried spice rounds out some of the herbs and spices used for the Mexican prawn marinade. We need ground (mild) paprika.
- Note 11 - Salt and pepper: we use cooking salt and a little bit of black pepper to season the marinade.
- Nutritional information: at the time of publishing this post the nutritional calculator in the recipe card was not working (apologies). Hence the kcal is inaccurate. I will update this as soon as that is working again.
Nutrition
Calories: 20kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 34IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.4mg