River prawns with raw tropical salad

Tam West

Use whole raw prawns for this dish. On a holiday in Fiji I ate their river prawns which are lovely and sweet and definitely worth seeking out when visiting. Serve this dish on a very hot summer's evening or as part of a long lazy lunch. Have plenty of napkins and water bowls for messy fingers. The salad uses freshly grated coconut. See here for how to prepare it.

For the prawns

16 whole	Raw prawns, thawed; use up to 20 (Main)
16	Bamboo skewers, use up to 20
1 dash	Chilli oil, for brushing
1	Lime, cut into wedges

For the raw salad

½	Pineapples, fresh, peeled and core removed (Main)
½ small	Pawpaw, seeds removed and peeled
1	Mango, or use half a small honeydew melon, peeled
½ cup	Coconut, Fresh, grated
¼ tsp	Ground cardamom
1	Lime, finely grated zest and juice only

Directions

1. Thread each prawn on to a skewer. This keeps the prawn straight and helps with even grilling. Brush prawns with chilli oil, place on a tray, cover and keep in the fridge while you make the salad.
2. Heat a barbecue grill until hot.
3. Make the salad. Slice the fruit into slices that are manageable to eat with a fork (or cut into 2.5cm dice). Place in a bowl as you go. Add the grated fresh coconut, cardamom and zest and lime juice. Gently mix to combine. Cover and set aside.
4. Remove the prawns from the fridge and place on the hot barbecue grill. Grill until dark grill lines appear, turning once, and until the prawns turn pink.
5. Serve prawns with the raw tropical salad.

Kathy's tips:

• If you prefer, remove the shell from the body of the prawns (leave on the head and tail), and cut out the gut tract before grilling. If the skewers are not exposed to the heat you don't need to soak them in cold water for 30 minutes or so.
• To make your own chilli oil, finely chop 1 deseeded fresh chilli, place in a small bowl and cover with olive oil.

More Fijian recipes from Kathy

• Coconut basil pesto
• Curried pumpkin
• Ota salad with seafood and coconut 'miti' sauce