This 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.
We cook the prawns with their shells on, cooking prawns this way (with their shell on) produce 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.
Best tomatoes and chillies for this Hot Tequila Prawns Recipe
Tomatillos
Green Tomatoes
Failing that, medium-large orange ones will do.
As far as chillies are concerned, poblanos are mild chillies, so substitute them with jalapeños or any other chilli you like.
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Hot Tequila Prawns
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3–4 1x
Ingredients
- 12 large prawns (shrimps)
- 1/4 tsp hot chilli powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- juice of one 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. Right at the end, add the last tbsp of tequila, let it burn off, will only take seconds.
- Tip the prawns onto the tomatillos, scatter the poblano strips and scallions & squeeze the rest of the lime juice all over. Best eaten immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3-4
Alisa says
This is really delicious food, We can try more with prawns
Azlin Bloor says
Thank you Alisa.
Daniela says
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.
Azlin Bloor says
Thank you, me too!