You can make these garlic butter prawns as a treat for the family, or as an easy way to entertain a crowd of friends. This is a super simple recipe, with only 3 main ingredients, and only takes minutes to cook! The prawns are pan-fried in their shells in garlic butter, ensuring they remain juicy and succulent. What's more, they are ideal for serving as a simple appetiser too!
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Simple but so delicious
Garlic butter prawns is such a simple recipe that I'm almost embarrassed to share it, but it's the way we enjoyed our prawns when I lived in South Africa so I thought I'd tell you how we cooked them. Disclaimer - this isn't really a recipe - more of a method.
We used to buy our prawns (complete with shells and heads) in 2-kilogram boxes. Then we'd invite as many people as we thought the prawns would feed, and have them for an al fresco Sunday lunch.
I'd spend what seemed like hours on Sunday morning cleaning the prawns while hubby tidied up the garden and got the chairs and tables sorted. Then we'd put together a few salads and dipping sauces with some crusty garlic bread, and sit back and wait for the guests to arrive.
We used to cook the garlic butter prawns outside on a 'skottel', which is a concave metal cooking dish that fits on top of a gas barbeque. Now while my South African readers will know exactly what I'm talking about, the rest of you probably won't have any idea. So I searched on Amazon for a picture of a skottel, and this is the closest I could get.
The idea is that you heat up butter, oil (to stop the butter from burning) and garlic in the skottel, and when it's hot, fry the prawns for a few minutes on each side until they turn pink. If you don't have a skottel, then you can cook the prawns on the hob in a large frying pan.
It's such a quick and easy way of feeding lots of people. Just transfer the cooked garlic prawns to a large serving dish, pop it on the table with the side dishes, and let everyone help themselves.
Believe me, if you haven't tasted these simple garlic butter prawns then you've been missing out on one of life's most mouth-watering treats. The garlic butter soaks through the slit in the shell (where you've removed the back vein) and covers the flesh of the prawn with its delicious flavour.
Now that I'm living in the UK though, cooking outside (especially in winter) isn't all that appealing, so I make these garlic butter prawns indoors in my trusty wok. Not quite the same, but very enjoyable nevertheless.
Everyone peels their own prawns, so you will need to provide lots of serviettes (and finger bowls) to wipe sticky fingers. And don't forget to put out a bowl or two to hold the discarded shells!
What you will need
Equipment
You will need a wok for cooking the garlic butter prawns, and a pair of scissors to cut down the back of the prawns to remove the black vein. If you don't have a wok, you can get away with using a large frying pan.
Ingredients
The quantities given in the recipe will feed 2 people. To feed more, simply increase the number of prawns. The number of prawns you will need per person depends on the size of your prawns. The prawns I used were medium-sized, and I estimated 10 per person, which was about 150 grams (or just over 5 ounces) in the shell.
**The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making garlic butter prawns can be found on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Prawns - Head and shell on fresh uncooked prawns. If you use frozen prawns, you should tip them into a bowl of cold water and allow them to defrost before cleaning and cooking. Once defrosted, the prawns should be cleaned and cooked as soon as possible. If you have to leave them for an hour or two, place them in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Butter - use unsalted butter if possible.
Oil - one or two tablespoons of oil with the butter prevents the butter from burning.
Garlic - for convenience, I use minced garlic from a jar - you can use freshly minced garlic instead.
What to do
Clean the prawns
Using a pair of scissors, cut a slit down the back of the prawn from just behind the head, right down to the tail
Use the point of the scissors to ease the black vein out.
Rinse the prawn in clean water and place it in a dish. Repeat until all the prawns have been cleaned.
Fry the prawns
If you are making a large number of prawns you will have to do this in batches.
Melt the butter in a wok and add the oil and garlic.
The butter/oil should be hot enough for the prawns to sizzle gently when they are added.
Pat the prawns with a piece of paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
Add the prawns to the wok in a single layer and fry them gently until they start to turn pink. This will take between 3 to 4 minutes.
Turn the prawns over with a spatula and fry them for another 3 to 4 minutes until they are completely pink and cooked through.
Transfer the prawns to a serving dish and keep them warm while you fry the remaining prawns.
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Variations
If you don't want to use garlic why not try these variations:
Chilli prawns - substitute the garlic for a finely chopped chilli. Fry the chilli lightly in the butter before adding the prawns.
Lemon prawns - omit the garlic and fry the prawns in the oil and butter. When the prawns are cooked, squeeze on the juice of half a lemon before serving, and serve with a bowl of lemon butter for dipping.
Ideas for serving
Salads
These are some of my favourite salads that I used to make to serve with garlic butter prawns. They are all no-fuss, quick and easy recipes, which rely on canned vegetables (which isn't really my style of cooking - I prefer cooking with fresh ingredients), but these salads do go so well with the prawns.
- Green beans - buy a tin of French cut (ie sliced on the diagonal) green beans, drain well and mix with one or two tablespoons of mayonnaise. This is my recipe for homemade mayonnaise if you'd like to make your own.
- Egg and asparagus - mix a well-drained can of asparagus cuts with 3 sliced hard-boiled eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Moisten with a tablespoon of mayonnaise. Or you can use this recipe for egg and asparagus salad if you want to make it with fresh asparagus.
- Avocado and sweetcorn - open a tin of creamed sweetcorn (not kernels - it must say 'creamed sweetcorn' on the label). Mix the sweetcorn with 1 or 2 chopped avocados (depending on the size of the avos) and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
These garlic butter prawns would also make a tasty addition to a pasta salad bar.
Dipping sauces
Here are some of my favourite dipping sauces for prawns:
- Marie Rose (or Thousand Island) - mix together 2 parts mayonnaise to 1 part tomato ketchup, add 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (optional) and a few drops of Tabasco or Sriracha to taste.
- Jack Daniels dipping sauce - the smokiness of the sauce goes so well with the prawns.
- Easy honey mustard dipping sauce - mix half a cup of mayonnaise with one tablespoon of runny honey and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (adjust the honey and mustard to your taste).
- Use your favourite brand of shop-bought sweet chilli sauce or make your own using this Thai sweet chilli sauce recipe
- Lemon butter - melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter and add lemon juice to taste.
Add slices of garlic bread or a cheesy garlic baguette and a bowl of fried rice (I added a tablespoon of soy sauce to my Chinese egg fried rice recipe) and you have a meal fit for a king!
FAQ
The black vein down the back of the prawns is the alimentary canal (sometimes called the 'sand vein') which contains waste products like bits of sand. While it's not harmful to eat, it's not aesthetically pleasing. I prefer to remove it.
I wouldn't freeze them, especially if you make this dish with prawns that have been previously frozen.
Garlic butter prawns are at their best when freshly cooked. You can clean the prawns one or two hours ahead of time and store them in a covered container in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook them.
Leftover prawns? Really? Joking aside, I like to eat cold leftover prawns on a sandwich with a smear of Marie Rose sauce.
There are two types of people in this world. Those who fastidiously use a knife and fork to peel away the shell, and those (like me) who like to get their hands in. This is for those of you who are like me!
Break off the head and discard it. Some people like to suck the juices from the head - I don't, but I've been reliably informed that the head is the best part!
Peel the shell from the prawns, starting at the slit that was cut down the back, and pulling the shell and legs away.
Dip the prawn into a dipping sauce, pop it in your mouth, close your eyes and enjoy. You may also feel the urge to say 'mmmmmmm' while eating it. This is perfectly normal behaviour and nothing to be concerned about.
Wipe your hands on a serviette and repeat!
There's no difference. It just depends on where in the world you live. In the UK and most Commonwealth countries, we call them prawns. In the US they are known as shrimp.
Save for later
If you would like to try these garlic butter prawns yourself, why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click on the image below.
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Related recipes
Here are some other recipes using prawns that you may enjoy:
You can find other prawn recipes, including this recipe for Kashmiri chicken and prawn curry, on my fish and seafood recipes page.
📋The recipe
Garlic butter prawns
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- Wok OR
- Frying Pan
- Scissors
Ingredients
- 10 ounces / 300 grams unpeeled raw prawns (shrimp) approx 20 prawns
- 2 ounces / 60 grams unsalted butter
- 1 - 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Instructions
- Using a pair of scissors, cut a slit down the back of the prawn from just behind the head, right down to the tail.
- Use the point of the scissors to ease the black vein out.10 ounces / 300 grams unpeeled raw prawns (shrimp)
- Melt the butter in a wok and add the oil and garlic. The butter/oil should be hot enough for the prawns to sizzle gently when they are added.2 ounces / 60 grams unsalted butter, 1 - 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
- You may need to do this in batches.Pat the prawns with a piece of paper towel to remove any excess moisture.Add the prawns to the wok in a single layer and fry them gently until they start to turn pink. This will take between 3 to 4 minutes.
- Turn the prawns over with a spatula and fry them for another 3 to 4 minutes until they are completely pink and cooked through.
- Transfer the prawns to a serving dish and keep them warm while you fry the remaining prawns.
Notes
- Green beans - buy a tin of french cut (ie sliced on the diagonal) green beans, drain well and mix with one or two tablespoons of mayonnaise. This is my recipe for homemade mayonnaise.
- Egg and asparagus - mix a well-drained can of asparagus cuts with 3 sliced hard-boiled eggs and salt and pepper to taste. Moisten with a tablespoon of mayonnaise.
- Avocado and sweetcorn - open a tin of creamed sweetcorn (not kernels - it must say 'creamed sweetcorn' on the label). Mix the sweetcorn with 1 or 2 chopped avocados (depending on the size of the avos) and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Marie Rose (or Thousand Island) - mix together 2 parts mayonnaise to 1 part tomato ketchup, add 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce (optional) and a few drops of Tabasco or Sriracha to taste.
- Jack Daniels dipping sauce - the smokiness of the sauce goes so well with the prawns.
- Easy honey mustard dipping sauce - mix half a cup of mayonnaise with one tablespoon of runny honey and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (adjust the honey and mustard to your own taste).
- Use your favourite brand of shop-bought sweet chilli sauce or make your own using this Thai sweet chilli sauce recipe
- Lemon butter - melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter and add lemon juice to taste.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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