How To Cook Prawns

How To Devein Your Prawns And Clean Them

Prawns with the shell on have a lot more flavour although a little bit more messier to eat, but worth it! Prawns are also a great and tasty addition to any seafood dish.

The first thing to be done is to defrost your prawns. Empty them into a large glass bowl and pour cold water around them, then drain them and keep repeating this step until they are defrosted. This process could take up to 15 minutes.
Before cleaning them you need to rinse them again in cold water, use your hands to rinse each prawn individually. Look out for any prawns that have discoloured or are a bit slimy. Don’t ever use warm water for your prawns, it will make then rubbery and soggy.
To devein, take a sharp knife and cut a small line running down the length of the back. This is to be done on the top of the prawn, the opposite side to where the legs are. You will see a small black line, use the tip of the knife to pull out the vein and throw it away.

Some Reasons for Removing the Black Vein:

The black vein is the intestines, it improves the taste of the prawn by removing it.
After deveining them they should be rinsed in cold water again, this will ensure everything is completely removed concerning any remaining pieces of the intestines.

Now you know how to clean your own prawns and properly defrost them, well done!

The next step is to start cooking them, a great easy recipe to cook them is using garlic and butter. All you have to do is put them in a pan on the stove or on the braai and add some butter and garlic. This is delicious and so easy to make!