Hot tequila prawns are a quick and easy recipe that can be made in minutes. Perfect for entertaining friends or lazy weekends.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Table of contents
Hot Tequila Prawns
These hot tequila prawns came off a Superbowl Challenge on Google+ that was posted by a friend of mine. It was quite late by the time I saw it and I was going to give it a miss despite the fact that those ingredients were whispering sweet nothings to me! I mean come on, just look at them – tequila, lime, chilli, tomatillos! Makes you go weak in the knees, doesn’t it?
But the guy can be fairly persuasive and as I didn’t have to actually cook the recipe, just submit it, well, resistance was futile. After all, there wasn’t any thinking to be done here, as soon as I saw the list, the finished dish was in my head.
The Recipe
These hot tequila prawns are very, very easy. And you can also make them as hot as you want to or as mild.
We cook the prawns with their shells on, producing more succulent meat. The marinade still does get passed on to the meat and at the same time the shells impart a depth of their own to the prawn meat, much like when making stock with prawns shells. This is perfect for the barbecue too!
The tequila lends a touch of sweet and herbal to the final flavour, with perhaps some woody notes too, but that really does depend on your tequila itself. Needless to say, the prawns are meant to be spicy, but you can control that with the amount and type of chillies, chilli powder and black pepper.
Ingredients
- tomatillos or green tomatoes (failing that, orange ones will work too)
- prawns (shrimp)
- tequila – any kind will do
- green chilli – this acts more as a garnish than an ingredient, so any kind will do
- hot chilli powder – this is what will determine the final heat level
- fresh lime juice – completes the picture, and once again, any limes will do
Hot Tequila Prawns Recipe
Have all your ingredients ready, as the cooking process is quick. This is what we’ll be doing:
- Clean the prawns.
- Marinate them while we get everything else ready.
- Char the tomatillos/tomatoes.
- Cook the prawns on high heat (this will only take about 3-4 minutes).
- Serve up.
Told ya it was easy.
So, shall we get our aprons on?
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
Hot Tequila Prawns
Ingredients
- 12 large prawns (shrimps)
- ¼ tsp hot chilli powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 Tbsp tequila
- 1 green chilli cut in long strips, lose the seeds
- 2-3 tomatillos or any large tomato whatever colour, sliced medium thin (12 slices in all)
- 1 spring onion (scallion) sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Clean the prawns, remove the head and wash off any gunk. Leave the shell and tail intact.
- Marinate the prawns with chilli powder, ground black pepper, salt, half the lime juice and 2 tbsp tequila while you get all the other ingredients ready.
- Heat a Tbsp of the oil in a roomy frying pan on medium high heat.
- Sear the tomatillo/tomato slices, a few at a time, about 1 minute each side. No overcrowding, as we want the tomatillos seared, not stewed. Do it in 2-3 go’s if your pan isn’t big enough
- Transfer the tomatillos to a warm plate and keep warm.
- Turn the heat right up under the same frying pan, don't clean the pan.
- Tip the prawns in, with the marinade and very quickly cook the prawns on high heat, letting the prawns char and take on smoky/burnt notes. You only need about 3 to 4 minutes here. Flip the prawns halfway through. Right at the end, add the last Tbsp of tequila, shake the pan and let it burn off. This will only take seconds.
- Tip the prawns onto the tomatillos, scatter the poblano strips and spring onions and squeeze the rest of the lime juice all over. Best eaten immediately.
This is really delicious food, We can try more with prawns
Thank you Alisa.
I love anything with tequila and chili in it, so this recipe immediately caught my eye. It’s so easy too! I can’t wait to try it.
Thank you, me too!